September Newsletter

Hello, and welcome to our September newsletter.

I start by sharing the sad news that our brilliant BID Manager Matthew Chapman is leaving us in November for pastures new. It has been really great working with him. We will certainly miss him, but wish him well in his new role with North Yorkshire County Council. Our loss really is their gain.

In this edition you can find out about Christmas in Harrogate, the fabulous Harrogate in Bloom Awards held earlier in the week, and the return of the power washing team.

As ever, if you have any comments/suggestions, then please do get in touch.

Yours sincerely

Sara

Sara Ferguson
BID Chair

Town’s floral excellence celebrated at Harrogate In Bloom Awards evening

Harrogate’s floral excellence has been celebrated at an awards ceremony this week.

Held at 63rd + 1st and jointly funded by Harrogate BID and Harrogate in Bloom, it was the first Harrogate In Bloom Awards since 2019 with the certificates and trophies being presented by former Yorkshire Agricultural Society Chief Executive Nigel Pulling.

The evening – which was attended by more than 60 invited guests, including The Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate, Cllr Victoria Oldham –  was the culmination of Harrogate BID’s Floral Summer of Celebration.

This featured a floral trail consisting of seven unique displays, floral-themed shop windows, a fascinating indoor exhibition – including a film from 1959 called Harrogate; A Guide To Britain’s Resort – and a shop window competition.

Winners on the night included Helen James Flowers, Horticap, The White Hart Hotel, Vivido and Jack Baier of Ashville College.

Full details, including the list of winners, can be found here . More pictures from the awards ceremony are below.
Christmas 2022 unwrapped
Our September BID Club meeting was focused on this year’s festive offering, and Harrogate once again becoming ‘Destination Christmas’.
We were joined by Nick Rhodes from Market Place Europe, John McGivern from Harrogate Borough Council and Julia Lumley from Visit Harrogate. And here’s the highlights:

The Christmas Lights will be shining bright from Thursday, November 17 right through to the New Year. The Christmas Fayre – located on Cambridge Crescent between Friday December 2 and Sunday 11 – will feature 50 Yorkshire and European stalls.The Candy Cane Express – which was a huge hit with adults and children alike – will be running for its duration, and due to its popularity, it’s hoped two road trains will be running each day. Crescent Gardens will be home to a ‘winter wonderland’ featuring ice skating rink, carousel, children’s rides and an ‘après ski’, which will be in place through to early January. The Valley Gardens will also play host to two weekend artisan markets.

Also new for Christmas 2022 is a 32m ‘observation wheel’, which will probably be located near the war memorial. Harrogate International Festivals will be bringing back the North Pole Post Office and Cedar Court Hotel will be home to the Father Christmas Experience.

There will also be plenty of marketing activity during the lead up to – and during – the Christmas period to promote Harrogate far and wide.
Cleaning Crew heading back to town

The team from UK Nationwide Cleaning will be back in Harrogate soon ensuring the town centre looks spick and span ahead of the Christmas period.

The crew will be spending a number of evenings targetting grime hot spots in high footfall streets.

Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman said: “Businesses repeatedly tell us that a litter and grime free town centre is what they want, and that’s what Harrogate BID is delivering via our Street Ranger, Chris, and our cleaning crew who return on a regular basis.”
Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman Moving On

In November, our BID Manager Matthew Chapman will be leaving us for a new, exciting managerial role within North Yorkshire Council.

Harrogate BID Sara Ferguson said: “Since joining us in May 2021, Matt has been a highly effective, dedicated and extremely popular BID Manager. I have certainly enjoyed our working relationship, and that is echoed by all my fellow directors.

“During his time with us, he has become one of the most recognised faces in the town centre. He’s built terrific relationships with the district and county councils, business organisations and business owners and their employees.

“We will be extremely sorry to see Matt go, but the good news for us, and the town centre, is that he will continue to play a role within the organisation, offering guidance and support to the board and BID team, within a part-time role to aid the recruitment process and ensure a smooth transition and handover.

“The BID Team is now primed to continue delivering the high impact projects which benefit the town as a whole, and the job of finding Matt’s replacement has now begun.”