Harrogate BID Newsletter June 2025
Hello all and welcome to the latest edition of our Harrogate BID newsletter.
As you may be aware, Matthew Chapman resigned from his position as CEO of the BID last month. We would like to thank Matthew for all of his hard work and commitment to the BID over the last few years and wish him all the best for the future.
We are currently in the recruitment process for a new Chief Executive – and to ensure continuity during this transition, we have appointed Gemma Rio as Interim CEO on a part-time basis, effective immediately.
We are committed to maintaining momentum across core projects and initiatives while securing the right long-term leadership for the organisation. We are focused on ensuring continuity and maintaining the delivery of key projects and support for Harrogate’s business community.
Our next upcoming event is the Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration, which returns on Friday, July 18th! The fantastic, unique flowery displays will take over key town centre locations for a number of weeks, adding to our town’s already renowned floral heritage.
Our latest street art project along Cheltenham Road is now on show, with each letter representing a well-known aspect of Harrogate and its heritage – including spa waters, wellbeing, floral, afternoon tea, the local football club and more.
We also held our first Maker’s Market along Cambridge Street in June – which received a very positive response from traders, customers and the business community!
Yours sincerely,
Simon Midgley
BID Chair
BID thrilled to fully fund new street art project to take pride in Harrogate town centre
The BID is delighted to deliver a new street art project to improve a key town centre location and take pride in Harrogate.
The Business Improvement District (BID) has fully funded the new artwork along a bare wall on Cheltenham Road, close to the entrance of one of the town centre’s most popular multi-storey car parks, Jubilee – used by hundreds of people every week.
The new art has been designed to welcome people into the town centre, with the phrase ‘Welcome to Harrogate’ and a creation for each letter representing a well-known aspect of the North Yorkshire town and its heritage – including spa waters, wellbeing, floral, afternoon tea, the local football club and more.
BID team excited to reveal return date for popular Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration
The BID team are delighted to reveal the date that the Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration, featuring a series of dynamic displays, will return to the town centre.
The popular floral trail, organised by the Business Improvement District (BID) every summer, will return to Harrogate town centre from Friday, July 18th.
The trail of fantastic, unique flowery displays will take over key town centre locations for a number of weeks, adding to Harrogate’s already renowned floral heritage.
Father’s Day competition winner delighted with top prize package
The winner of this year’s Father’s Day competition, featuring a top Harrogate-themed prize package, said they are over the moon after being selected.
Laura Hughes, who works as a nursery nurse, entered the competition for her husband Darren – as the prize package features two season tickets for Harrogate Town for the upcoming campaign and he is hoping to attend more matches with their five-year-old son, Tommy.
Laura has now claimed the full prize package, which includes the season tickets for Harrogate Town AFC for the 2025/26 campaign, a Saturday afternoon experience at The Den in the town centre featuring fantastic food, delicious drinks and exciting entertainment, a £100 voucher for the Yorkshire Farmers Meat Company’s top quality range and a £100 Harrogate Gift Card available to spend in almost 100 different businesses around the town centre.
‘Brilliant’ Maker’s Market delivered in Harrogate town centre with very positive response
Harrogate BID was delighted to work alongside partners to deliver the town’s first Maker’s Market with a very positive response from traders, customers and the business community.
The new market was created by the Business Improvement District (BID) and Real Markets to showcase a range of offers from independent businesses to a wider audience.
The first market, held on Sunday, June 15th, received highly positive feedback from both local people and visitors – with one of the traders stating: “We had a great day! It was so stress-free, very straight forward with clear guidance.”
Changeover to summer floral barrier baskets
You may have noticed a changeover in the barrier baskets we fully fund around our town centre…
The flowers are changed twice a year to match the seasons and the move from winter to summer flowers has now taken place!
With more than 200 on show around the BID area, the baskets are just one part of our floral offering, adding bright colours and decorative features to the barriers on the walkways around Harrogate.
Treat your teacher with the Gift of Harrogate!
The Harrogate Gift Card could be that perfect present for your favourite teacher at the end of term!
Available to spend in almost 100 businesses across the town centre, it helps you to cover all bases and is a great way to say thank you to your best-loved teachers.
It’s also a fantastic way to shop local and support our business community!
The Gift Cards are available to purchase online or at the Harrogate Bus Station, Turkish Baths or Mercer Art Gallery.
Street Rangers continue to make Harrogate safe, clean and welcoming
Our Street Ranger duo Sam and Darren have been busy deep cleaning over the last few weeks!
You may have spotted them around the town centre clearing grime, dirt and other tricky materials from the pavements.
Our in-house equipment allows the team to carry out thorough deep cleans across the town centre throughout the year.
We’re committed to ensuring our town centre looks the best it can, all year round!
If you would like to request our Street Ranger service, please email us on info@harrogatebid.co.uk
Harrogate town centre hosts biggest ever veteran and modern supercar show
The centre of Harrogate hosted a car show featuring vehicles from the dawn of motoring and the latest supercars.
On Saturday, June 21, James Street was closed to traffic as it hosted 70 antique cars participating in the Veteran Car Tour of Yorkshire.
At the same time, 40 modern supercars were on display outside the Yorkshire Hotel, sponsored by local company Apollo Capital.
This is the second time the car concours has been held in Harrogate
Latest Harrogate BID Blog
In the June edition of our BID blog, we looked into the benefits of a Business Improvement District in Harrogate and how we work to maintain our town as the ‘jewel in Yorkshire’s crown’.
At Harrogate BID, we are working to drive investment into the town centre.
Through our Term 2 Business Plan, which will run until 2028, we aim to take pride in the vibrant town of Harrogate, while helping to share the voice of businesses along with their vision.
As we are based in the town centre, this allows us to react quickly to any issues raised by businesses or members of the public.
Click here to read our latest blog and view our Business Plan.