Harrogate BID Newsletter January 2025
Hello everyone and welcome to the second Harrogate BID newsletter of 2025!
It was a challenging start to the month with the extreme cold weather conditions hitting our town centre. But, our teams on the street at the BID were on hand to provide additional services in gritting and clearing snow and ice. The management team were also in daily contact with North Yorkshire Council communicating on the ground feedback on where statutory services had been delivered and where further attention was needed.
We held our Annual General Meeting last month to share the success and some of the highlights from our work as the BID in Harrogate over the past year. It was a well-attended event and our team were delighted to receive some very welcoming, positive feedback from Members and partners.
We’ve also been using our social media platforms to shout about Harrogate remaining well and truly open for business. January can sometimes be a quieter month for hospitality businesses, such as pubs, bars and restaurants, so we chose to offer a helping hand to encourage potential customers to visit them!
We held the second ever Harrogate Self Care Week towards the end of the month, helping people to kickstart their year in the best way possible by empowering health and elevating wellbeing! We were thrilled with the response with great attendance and offer huge thanks to those that helped with the organisation of the week-long programme.
Now, we’re looking ahead to Valentine’s Day. In partnership with Your Harrogate, we have launched the ‘From Harrogate with Love’ competition for one lucky couple to win a romantic getaway to the jewel in Yorkshire’s crown!
Yours sincerely,
Simon Midgley
BID Chair
BID encourages Members to join Harrogate Gift Card scheme to lock in spend and boost local business community
Harrogate BID has launched a campaign to encourage member businesses to sign up to the Gift Card scheme in the town.
The Harrogate Gift Card is a fantastic way to lock in spend to boost the local business community and economy. Since its inception back in 2019, it has helped to secure more than £170,000 of investment into Harrogate’s businesses.
Almost 100 businesses are currently signed up for the scheme, with the BID team hoping to increase the amount over the coming months to support the town’s business community.
Praise for Harrogate Self Care Week 2025 after successful week of events returns to town
The Harrogate BID team were delighted to deliver a second successful Self Care Week, with a jam-packed programme of relaxing, mindful and therapeutic events to ease into the new year.
The Business Improvement District (BID) introduced the idea in 2024 to help people in the town – as well as visitors – to kick-start the year in the best way by empowering health and elevating wellbeing.
It’s also a fantastic opportunity to showcase Harrogate as the spa town destination its known as across the country and even overseas.
Following the return of programme last week, the BID team are very pleased to announce they have received heaps of positive feedback from both those that attended the sessions, classes, workshops and talks and the instructors and coaches.
‘From Harrogate with Love’ as BID launches Valentine’s competition for one lucky couple this year
Harrogate BID is excited to release the details of a Valentine’s competition inviting one lucky couple for a special experience in the town known as the ‘jewel in Yorkshire’s crown’.
The themed competition – appropriately named ‘From Harrogate with Love’ – will offer a romantic getaway for two including a relaxing, luxurious session in the Turkish Baths, a terrific two-night stay at the popular Hotel du Vin in a prime town centre location and a unique experience at the world renowned Betty’s – along with a £100 Harrogate Gift Card available to spend at almost 100 businesses in the town!
The BID team are delighted to work alongside Your Harrogate to bring the competition together. To enter, simply visit the Your Harrogate website.
Entries must be made between now and Valentine’s Day on February 14th, when the winner will be selected at random by the BID team.
BID opens applications for Street Art and Entertainment campaigns in 2025
Harrogate BID has opened up applications for its Street Art and Entertainment campaigns in 2025.
As part of the organisation’s ‘Pride in our Town and ‘A Vibrant Town’ objectives in the Business Plan, the BID team have launched specifications for companies to sign up for some of its key campaigns across the year.
Street Rangers continue deep clean service to ensure Harrogate remains clean and welcoming for all
The Harrogate BID Street Ranger team has been working hard to carry out deep cleans across the town centre to ensure it remains clean and welcoming for all.
Last year, the BID funded some brand new equipment, along with training for the Street Rangers, to bring the steam cleaning service in-house rather than using a contractor at certain times of the year.
Sam and Darren, who make up the Street Ranger team, have already cleaned thousands of square metes of the town centre using the equipment – allowing them to store up to 1,000 litres of water, which can then be heated up to 100 degrees to remove dirt, grime and other tricky materials.
To request the Street Ranger service, please email the BID team on info@harrogatebid.co.uk
Town Centre Support Officer continues important work to support, safeguard and improve Harrogate
Harrogate BID’s TSCO continues to deliver positive results in his work to support, safeguard and improve Harrogate town centre.
Kiam, who joined the BID in the brand new role introduced in early 2024, has been on hand to deter criminals to help recover thousands of pounds worth of stolen goods.
Working alongside key partners, Kiam acts as the eyes and ears on the ground in a bid to make an effective impact and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, as well as increasing reporting from the local business community and collating crucial data to assist with campaigns.
New Chair and Directors appointed in changes to BID Board in Harrogate
Harrogate BID is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Chair as the organisation moves into a new year and further into its second term in the town.
Following the departure of Sara Ferguson at the end of 2024 after a number of years of commitment to the BID, the team is delighted to reveal that Simon Midgley, owner of Starling in the town centre, has taken on the role of Chair for 2025.
Lyndsay Snodgrass, of Verity Frearson in Harrogate, will remain in the Vice Chair role for the upcoming year.
Lyndsay stepped up to fill the position in early 2024 and was voted to remain in place by Directors following a successful year.
Harrogate BID hosts AGM
The Harrogate BID team were pleased to host their latest Annual General Meeting (AGM) on January 16th.
The meeting was well attended by BID Members and partners as the team shared details on the campaigns, services and events delivered throughout 2024, as well as plans looking ahead into 2025.
Last year was another packed out programme for the Business Improvement District in Harrogate with the introduction of new events, services, campaigns and team members.
The full plan for the upcoming year has already been set out and is well underway – and the team can’t wait to build on their successes and deliver even more as they move further into their second term.
HUQ update on data from January 2025
The latest figures from HUQ for the first month of the year have been revealed…
The total footfall for the month stood at almost 1.3 million, while a new area in Union Street featured in the town’s hotspots for the first time.
Catchment areas again came from across the country, with postcodes in locations including Morecambe, Alfreton, Lincoln and Mansfield featuring in the list.
If you would like to see any specific data sets from HUQ, please email the BID team on info@harrogatebid.co.uk
BID’s statement on extreme cold weather in January
As the BID in Harrogate, we pulled together a statement on the reaction to the recent extreme weather conditions in our town.
We agree that the response to the conditions through clearing and gritting from the Local Authority was unacceptable. The daily statutory service that should be delivered by 9am can be found here.
Our Members told us and we were made aware that this service had not been delivered.
All BIDs should be voted into place to deliver additional services, and whilst we are always keen to work in collaboration and support where needed, we should not and at times cannot deliver statutory services such as this.
Hanging baskets in Harrogate for 2025
Give your business the extra wow factor this summer with a North Yorkshire Council subsidised hanging basket.
The council’s hanging baskets are renowned for their beauty and providing colour in the towns across the district.
The overall cost of growing and maintaining these baskets is subsidised by the council and the scheme is supported each year by the Harrogate BID team, the Chamber of Commerce and ‘In Bloom’ groups in recognition of the economic and community benefits attractive town centres bring to our businesses, residents and visitors.