HBC chief executive interview: The vision for Harrogate is very clear

On Friday the Stray Ferret interviewed Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson OBE on a range of subjects including the covid pandemic, housing, the cost of HBC’s new offices and the future of Harrogate town centre.

It is the first time a senior figure at HBC has agreed to an interview with the Stray Ferret- all previous requests have been declined.  Over the next four days we will publish sections of the interview.

Today focuses on Harrogate town centre and whether the council’s proposed £50m investment into the Harrogate Convention Centre could be throwing good money after bad.

The vision for Harrogate town centre

Mr Sampson, what is your vision for the future of Harrogate town centre?

We need to look at what’s being happening generally with town centres around the country and I don’t think Harrogate is any different or immune to them. If you look at trends over the last few years, everybody would agree the impact of internet shopping is having a fundamental impact on retail and people’s shopping trends. It’s meaning fewer people are coming into our town centres.

If you look at the last 12 months, covid has shown that people want their town centres to be clean, successful, safe and accessible. They also want to see more use of public space and to do that in a very safe and responsible way.

Without a shadow of a doubt, there’s a need to look at how we can reshape our town centres to make them welcoming and where people can meet, visit and spend time. We need to use our open and public spaces in a much more accessible way than we have done before.

Some people have been critical of HBC’s vision and they see a different Harrogate from the one they once knew. They also might be critical of your leadership and role in putting this vision forward. Have you been clear enough and is it getting through to people?

I think the council has been very clear with its vision for the town centre. We’ve had a town centre masterplan that’s been in place for many years now. We’ve been through our economic recovery framework and are looking at ways we can support the town centre and infrastructure requirements.

But there will be significant jobs in retail that will be lost over the next few years. Without being complacent, there are still signs that the Harrogate district’s economy is reasonably resilient.

I did a comparison across the district looking at retail vacancy rates today compared with as far back as 2013. Across the district, our average retail vacancy rates are currently 7.3%. In 2013 it was 8.3%.

If you suggest retail in Harrogate is better than in 2013, why is there a perception that the town centre is declining?

There are fundamental structural changes that are taking place in retail behaviour and Harrogate isn’t immune to that. There’s also the point about high rents affecting the ability of businesses to retain a presence on the high street. That’s affecting small businesses and big strong brands.

The fact that big brands such as Debenhams and Topshop are closing isn’t a sign of a lack of confidence in Harrogate, it’s a sign that big businesses are going through a period of change and how to respond to issues such as internet shopping and their own costs, particular premises-related costs around rent and rates.

Tackling vacant space is something that should be market-led, but we can try and support it. That’s why we’re doing things like the Transforming Cities project that’s going out to consultation and the redevelopment of the Harrogate Convention Centre.

Those things are really, really important to supporting the vibrancy and resilience of our town centres. I say town centres plurally because quite often the conversation is about Harrogate but it’s important we talk about the district as a whole.

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The future of Harrogate Convention Centre

What makes you convinced that spending £50m on the Harrogate Convention Centre will revitalise Harrogate? The Stray Ferret reported the HCC has been losing money consistently over the last 10 years. Is this investment throwing good money after bad?

It’s important to understand how important the convention centre is to the economy of the town. We’ve obviously been affected by covid over the last 12 months but in a normal year the conventions centre attracts about 150,000 visitors a year and its economic impact is significant. We’re talking £30-£40m it brings to the economy a year.

If we understand and accept that the HCC is of fundamental importance to the economy of the town and district, do we do nothing or do we just do the minimum in terms of patching up what is very ageing infrastructure?

If we do the minimum, what does that mean for the ability to attract events to the convention centre? Is there a risk that this leads to a very slow decline? That is the question that ultimately councillors will have to consider.

We need to work up what a redeveloped HCC will look like. We’re just starting that work to get the designs up so we have very clear designs and feasibility. We’ll take a full economic impact report to understand the benefits if we were to redevelop the HCC.

We’ll bring it all back to councillors who can eventually make a decision. In short, do we do nothing or see a decline in infrastructure, or do we invest and show confidence in an ability to win business so that has a knock-on impact to all the businesses in the district.

But the world has changed and conferences might look completely different following covid. Is there a risk the council could spend a significant sum redeveloping the HCC which could turn out to be a huge mistake? 

Councillors make the final decision and that will probably be in about 12 months’ time. They’ll need to take into account assumptions about future opportunities for the business. We will need to reshape our targets to reflect those opportunities.

We also need to look at conferences as well as public events and corporate events.

We’re looking at ensuring how we can retain our exhibitions and ensuring things like entertainment and trade events are much more on a weekend rather than on a weekday. The conferences on weekdays really drive the strong economic impact.

Covid is driving changes of behaviour and whether people in the future will attend trade shows exhibitions. We’ll use all that over the next 12 months to feed into the business plan. That will ultimately drive the decision.

Tomorrow Mr Sampson responds to questions about the number of new homes being built in the district and the Local Development Plan. 

 

Strayside Sunday: Oh the trials of being an elected representative…

Strayside Sunday is our weekly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party.

Following last week’s column on communitarianism, Shamima Begum and the Culture Wars, a reader emailed me with this missive: “Rubbish! Nowhere near Strayside. Local media should be for local news and opinion.” To spare blushes I won’t name the correspondent, nor share my reply, but I am stung into action. You want local. You’ve got it. I was going to do the most extraordinary budget since the war, or the 1% NHS “pay rise,” but I’ll stick to my Strayside knitting instead.

It must be difficult to be a local councillor. You pound the streets for months ahead of a local election, knocking the doors of mostly disinterested and often unfriendly strangers, canvassing their vote, making your pitch, doing your modest bit for the democratic process. Having convinced fully several hundred of your fellow residents to place their cross next to your name, you’re in. Elected to the Borough Council in the Conservative interest for the Pannal Ward, you take your first tentative steps in politics and, to mix my metaphors, you place both hands on the greasy pole and look upwards. What does the future hold? The heightened anticipation, the possibility, the responsibility, the accountability. The horrible burden of high office.

Councillor John Mann is chair of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee. In January the committee gave final approval to developer Berkeley DeVeer (shades of “To The Manor Born?”) to build 14 new homes on land at Rossett Green Lane. The vote was close; 6 in favour, 5 against. Step forward councillor Mann to cast the crucial vote. Were he to vote against, with the ballot tied at 6 for, 6 against, he would, as chair, have had a further and final casting vote. Councillor Mann abstained, ducking the difficult, to the consternation of local residents.

Pressed by emails from “at least” six of his constituents asking why he declined to vote, councillor Mann remained silent. When reached by telephone for comment by a Stray Ferret reporter, the councillor heard the subject and there was suddenly a poor connection and then he put the phone down saying he couldn’t hear the intrepid journo. An immediate subsequent call and voicemail message was ignored. When contacted for their comment Harrogate Borough Council’s press office said it was a matter for Mr. Mann. “Nothing to do with us, Guv” and all that.

You can tell a lot about people in general and even more about their state of mind by seeing what comes up first in their YouTube feed. Latterly I have been through a “Living Large in a Tiny House” stage; in which people create beautifully designed mobile tiny spaces so that they can escape the rat race and move to sites in the great unspoilt outdoors (a condition brought on by lockdown no doubt). Currently I’m going through a Fran Lebowitz phase. A symptom, I’m sure, of my general disappointment in myself, in life and in the actions of my fellow self-identified cis-gendered man. As Ms. Lebowitz says, “You can’t go around hoping that most people have sterling moral characters. The most you can hope for is that people pretend that they do.” In his comedy sketch handling of the Stray Ferret’s enquiries into his accountability lapse over the Rossett Green Lane development, I feel Councillor Mann ditched all such pretence.

I suspect that Councillor Mann simply panicked when he realised he had answered a call from a Stray Ferret journo and I have some small sympathy for him. I’ve been on the receiving end of several uncomfortable encounters with the press. They are no fun. During my blissfully brief time in front line politics I was once confronted by the Daily Mirror on my front door-step. I bluffed my way through it but I was terrified, both in the moment and from that moment until my political irrelevance. Modern politics is not for the faint of heart. It’s a full-contact sport. But that’s because principle, civility and accountability are in short supply among our duly elected; crowded out as they are by pliability, bile and brass neck. In large part our politicians get the coverage they deserve. They also deserve an equal measure of our sympathy to sweeten the bitter taste of our contempt.

Oprah Winfrey’s meeting with the self-obsessed Megan Markel and the increasingly new age Prince Harry (he says he wants their new Archewell podcast to provide a ‘safe space’ in which people can ‘tell their stories’) is not the only ‘event interview’ this week. I’m delighted to be able to report that The Stray Ferret conducted a wide-ranging interview with Harrogate Borough Council Chief Executive Wallace Sampson OBE on Friday. This is great news for local democracy and marks the first time that a senior representative from the council has felt able to speak with this publication. Bravo. Let’s hope the discussion marks the start of a new chapter, one in which visible accountability and open dialogue bring the council and townspeople together in community.

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

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Council Leader: some Harrogate businesses will not survive

Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper said Harrogate can “thrive again” following lockdown. However, he warned that some jobs and businesses in Harrogate will not survive.

Speaking alongside HBC chief executive Wallace Sampson last night at the first-ever virtual Harrogate District Chamber Meeting, he said “hard questions” need to be asked around the future of Harrogate retail.

He said he shopped online for the first time during lockdown and questioned if many shoppers who enjoyed the convenience of online shopping will ever return to the high street.

Cllr Cooper gave a vote of confidence in Harrogate International Centre and said the council is in discussions with the NHS about its future.

He said:

“We’re pleased to do our bit for national effort but we have to ask, we’re going to need the ability to hold large scale conferences to support the local economy.”

Wallace Sampson said the role of Harrogate town centre will change forever due to the lockdown.

Like Cllr Cooper, he said the conference centre will be crucial to how the town recovers but suggested it’s started to fall behind its competition.

He said “without a doubt” HBC needs to invest in the buildings to keep up with state-of-the-art conference facilities being built in other towns and cities. He said an investment case will be brought before HBC later this summer.

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Mr Sampson also praised HBC for its work supporting businesses during the lockdown. He mentioned various initiatives the council has undertaken including business rates holidays and a rent holiday for its commercial tenants.

He said:

“Without the rapid action of the council and a real can-do attitude from our staff, it is quite possible that many businesses wouldn’t have got through this difficult period.”

Both Mr Sampson and Cllr Cooper also praised the work of Harrogate BID during the lockdown.

Cllr Cooper said “the BID has had its problems but now some of the problems have gone away,” perhaps referring to the resignations of four of the BID’s board earlier this year.

Wallace Sampson and Richard Cooper at last night’s virtual meeting.

Mr Cooper and Mr Sampson answered four questions from Chamber members with two based around transport.

One person asked if Harrogate town centre should be pedestrianised, adding “Harrogate could be stunning – but isn’t”.

Cllr Cooper said:

“Yes, we have problems, but every time I visit my parents in Huddersfield I realise just what an amazing place we live.

“Regarding pedestrianisation, I’m on record as I’m saying I favour, as a trial period, to block off James Street, Albert Street and Princes Square.

“It’s funny, people who don’t want pedestrianisation shout very loudly. But I go and ask people and nearly everybody says they want it.

“If you do want pedestrianisation – you need to say so.”