Hello Summer. Hello Trails

Hello, and welcome to our June newsletter

Firstly, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who came and supported our Jubilee Square, our contribution towards Harrogate’s celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Whilst the weather could have been slightly kinder on the Sunday, it was a terrific four days with the highlight for me being the dog show.

Just around the corner, it’s our Floral Summer of Celebration featuring eight unique displays dotted around the town centre. We have new art work under the banner of ‘HG1 For Everyone’, plus new murals cheering up the old Debenhams building. We are going to be at the Great Yorkshire Show encouraging visitors to return at a future date to shop, eat and drink in the town centre.

At the end of month flowers will give way to bricks and as we welcome back the Lego Trail – with a number of exciting new models for 2022.

We are also asking Levy Payers to complete a short survey.

So plenty going on!

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and if you have any comments/suggestions, them please do get in touch.

Yours sincerely

Sara

Sara Ferguson
BID Chair
Harrogate BID to launch ‘Report a Crime’ Campaign
Harrogate BID is launching a new campaign to help understand the true nature of law and order within Harrogate town centre.Beginning on Monday, July 11, its ‘Report a Crime’ campaign – being run in conjunction with The Stray Ferret – is asking businesses, residents and visitors that have been the victims of a crime or anti-social activity to report it online at https://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

In a recent meeting with Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner, Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman shared with her concerns of levy payers about a lack of visible policing.

Mr Chapman was told that when it comes to prioritising resources, police chiefs rely on statistics presented to them, with reported incidents being at the top of the list, with Mrs Metcalfe urging the use of online reporting.

Mr Chapman said: “First and foremost I want to say Harrogate is a safe, welcoming and clean town. However, we hear regular stories from town centre traders of anti-social activity, including shoplifting, vandalism and drug abuse.

“In order to get a true picture, we are asking those who are either victims of a crime, or witness incidents, to report it online. Unlike calling 101 and then hanging up after several minutes, this means every incident is logged. This way, we can get a true picture of what is happening in the town.”
Turkish Baths Harrogate showcase at Victoria Shopping centre

To kick-off celebrations to mark 125 years of the Turkish Baths, its heritage experts will be at Victoria Shopping Centre from Monday 18 July to Sunday 24 July.

Look out for them in the shop unit on the ground floor (next to the lifts) from 10am until 3pm each day.

They will be exhibiting archive images and sharing fascinating details about the original Victorian relaxation and health treatments, as well as the Turkish Baths experience and treatments available today.

Find out more about the Turkish Baths at www.turkishbathsharrogate.co.uk

Photograph used with permission from Harrogate Library, North Yorkshire County Council

It’s ‘HG1 for Everyone’ with BID-funded street art

Three streets in Harrogate are benefitting from temporary vibrant art installations funded by the town’s Business Improvement District (BID).

In a partnership with the creative team at Hallmark Cards, ‘HG1 for Everyone’ has seen a series of colourful graphics appear on blocked up windows at the former Post Office on Cambridge Road, the side of Lakeland on Petergate (between James Street and Cambridge Street), and Cambridge Mews, off Oxford Street.

Whilst the Petergate artwork depicts Harrogate in four seasons and features Crimple Viaduct and flowers, those on Cambridge Road celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Turkish Baths, and Cambridge Mews’ shouts fun in dramatic colours and straight lines!

These temporary installations have appeared in the same week as mural ‘magician’ Sam Porter starts adding a splash of colour to the former Debenhams store on Parliament Street.

And earlier this year, nine colourful mosaics spelling the word Harrogate and created by town centre charity, Artizan International, were attached to the side of Boots on Cambridge Place.

Read the full story here.
Promoting Town Centre Businesses at The Great Yorkshire Show

This July, we are heading to the Great Yorkshire Show with Destination Harrogate to promote Harrogate BID events, campaigns and the town as a whole – including the wonderful retail, hospitality & leisure offering that Harrogate is famed for.

Over the four days, we will be engaging with visitors to encourage them to pay a visit to Harrogate town centre whilst they are in the area, or at a future date.

We want to give town centre businesses the opportunity promote a deal or campaign that they may have over the week of the Great Yorkshire Show (week commencing July 11). There will be a dedicated webpage where these deals will be showcased.

As part of our engagement, which will be fun and interactive, we will also be self-funding and offering visitors the chance to win prizes and giveaways, which we see as an incentive to visit the town centre. If you have anything that you may like to donate to promote your business within this campaign, please do get in touch at info@harrogate.co.uk
How Are We Doing?

Because the views of our Levy Payers are extremely important to us, we are asking you to complete a short survey about us, our objectives and our achievements to date.

Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman said: “It is important for us to know what our Levy Payers think of us, hence asking you to fill in this survey.

“The results will then help us shape our new business plan, which we will unveil in Spring 2023 and next year’s vote.”

The closing date for the survey, which can be found here is Sunday, July 31
Christmas 2022 – late night opening 
Harrogate Christmas 2022 planning is in full swing, and key retailers in the town, such as M&S, Primark and Victoria Shopping Centre, this month set their plans for Christmas opening:-Every Thursday in December – until 8pm
-Dates of the Christmas Fayre (2nd December – 11th December) – until 8pm excluding Sunday
– Dates outside of the Christmas Fayre (excluding late night Thursdays) – until 6pm

We are hoping other town centre businesses will also open late on Thursday so we can make Harrogate a magical place to shop this Christmas.

If you would like more information or plan to join the Harrogate Christmas offer please get in touch with the BID team – info@harrogatebid.co.uk
Town Centre Lego Trail is back 

Following on the from the success of last year’s town centre Lego Trail, we are bringing it back this July and August.

We are pleased to announce there will be 15 models in total, including a number of new creations that will be placed in shop windows around the town centre.

Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman said: “We received fantastic comments about last year’s Lego Trail, and thanks to stats from our LoyalFree app, we knew that thousands of people – young and old – followed the trail around town.

“It was incredibly well received by town centre businesses, and I’m delighted to say this year’s trail will have more models than last year, plus a number of new exciting commissions.

“One of our goals is to increase footfall within the town centre, and the Lego Trail last year helped us achieve that. I know this year’s Lego Trail will prove equally popular with retailers and shoppers alike.”
Paint it again Sam! 

Last year, street artist Sam Porter created the fabulous mural on the side of Monsoon, and a year on it still looks fabulous. It has really transformed Cross James Street

Now he’ s back, and this time he’s using his unique skills to create three masterpieces on boarded up doorways in the former Debenhams store.

When finished, they will all carry colourful images of flowers, and in turn are a perfect fit with BID’s Floral Summer of Celebration.

Being held between July 15 and August 12, the town centre will become home to a floral trail featuring eight unique displays, a shop window competition and an exhibition in Victoria Shopping Centre looking at different aspects of Harrogate’s floral history.

Unlike the Cross James Street mural, which was painted directly onto the wall, the designs at Debenhams are being created on wooden boards, which can be moved and displayed elsewhere.

The full story can be read here.

 
Harrogate BID launches floral shop window competition
Harrogate BID’s Floral Summer of Celebration is to burst into life with a shop window competition for town centre businesses.The organisation, which launched this year’s summer festival – taking place between Friday July 15 and Friday, August 12 – at the Spring Flower Show, is partnering with Harrogate in Bloom to stage the contest after a two-year absence.

More than a dozen town centre businesses, including Mama Doreens, The Yorkshire Soap Company, and the Yorkshire Hotel, have already picked up the floral gauntlet to help honour the town’s floral fame.

There are five categories to enter – Hotels & Guest Houses, Pubs, Restaurants & Cafes, and Shops – and a trophy will be presented to the overall winner in each group.

The full story can be read here.
Joint BID and Chamber Summer Social Event

Our August BID Club will be a joint BID Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce work summer social event being held at 63rd + 1st on Albert Street.

Being held straight after work on Monday, August 8, it will be a great opportunity to meet and chat with fellow Levy Payers and Chamber members over drinks and nibbles.

Please make a note in your diary and invitations will be sent out shortly.