Harrogate BID Newsletter November 2024
Hello all and welcome to the latest edition of the Harrogate BID monthly newsletter!
The festive period is upon us! The Christmas offer in Harrogate is back even bigger and better this year with the Fayre, Ferris Wheel and Candy Cane Express, to name just a few elements…
We’ve been busy over the last month in the lead up to Christmas, working hard to ensure the offer is enjoyable for all!
It’s such an important time of year for the business community, so make sure you shop local if you can! The Harrogate Gift Card could make that perfect present for that special someone this Christmas, helping to lock spend into our town’s economy too!
As we do every year, we were delighted to offer funding for a number of festive schemes in our town, including the Harrogate branch of the North Pole Post Office, the brand-new Harrogate Christmas Song and the annual Christmas Shop Window Competition!
And don’t forget, we’re preparing to host our Annual General Meeting next month. We’ll be sharing updates from across 2024, as well as some plans for next year, so watch this space… Please do come along if you have any questions or feedback to share with the BID team.
Yours Sincerely
Sara Ferguson
Harrogate BID Chair
Give the gift of Harrogate this Christmas
Give the gift of Harrogate to a special family member of friend this Christmas with the Harrogate Gift Card.
Now available to use in almost 100 businesses in the North Yorkshire town, the gift card helps you to cover all bases for that perfect Christmas present.
The festive period is such an important time for businesses in all sectors and the gift card is a fantastic way to shop local and lock in spend into Harrogate’s economy and business community.
BID backs Pubwatch scheme in Harrogate
Harrogate BID is pleased to announce another year of support for the Pubwatch scheme, providing additional help behind the scenes as well as funding.
The Business Improvement District supplies funding on an annual basis to the initiative – which operates under national guidelines to ensure those that attend venues in the North Yorkshire town can do so safely and enjoyably.
But, earlier this year, the BID team also took on a more administrative role with the Pubwatch scheme, monitoring the app and helping with any incident reports and banning orders.
Harrogate Self Care Week set to return in 2025
Following a successful programme earlier this year, Harrogate BID is excited to announce the return of the Self Care Week event!
The week-long schedule will return in January 2025, featuring a series of free workshops, activities and classes to help you kick start the year in the right way.
Empower your health and elevate wellbeing with professional coaches and instructors to help work on your body, soul and mind as we move into a new year.
Christmas lights and projection
The Harrogate BID team are excited to deliver and fully fund the Christmas lights around the town centre for another year, featuring a new additional element for 2024.
The Business Improvement District (BID) funds the Christmas lights in Harrogate annually to bring a vibrant, festive feel for businesses, visitors and residents in the town centre.
More than 100,000 LED bulbs, which were turned on in mid-November, have brought a touch of magic to key town centre locations and will illuminate the streets until early January.
Christmas Shop Window Competition 2024
The Christmas Shop Window Competition has returned for 2024, with winners set to be announced at a ceremony this week!
Harrogate BID is leading on the competition in 2024, offering the chance to local companies to put up a range of dazzling decorations and get into the festive spirit.
The categories for this year’s displays feature shops, hotels, pubs and restaurants and professional services, along with a number of discretionary awards.
Street Rangers continue top work in Harrogate
The Harrogate BID Street Ranger duo continue to deliver the vital service to ensure the town remains a safe, clean and welcoming place for all.
The reactive, pre-planned, operational, public facing job is critical in the delivery of the Harrogate BID Business Plan – and both Samuel Ashby and Darren Jevons have adapted to their new roles in fantastic fashion.
From planned deep cleans and reactive jet washes in high footfall areas, to litter picking and repairing street furniture in key locations, no two days are the same for the team as they continue their top efforts to maintain the town centre for businesses, residents and visitors in the North Yorkshire town.
Save the date for BID AGM 2025
The Harrogate BID team are delighted to share the date for their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2025.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, January 16th – with a location set to be confirmed over the coming weeks. During the AGM, the BID team will host a presentation to share details on the project, campaigns and events delivered in 2024 and the future plans for 2025.
There will also be the opportunity to ask questions to the BID Team and Board, who oversee the organisation’s delivery.
All businesses within the BID area are invited to attend. To secure a place, please email info@harrogatebid.co.uk
North Pole Post Office in Harrogate
The Harrogate branch of the North Pole Post Office has returned for the fifth year, well in time for children to post their letters to Father Christmas before the big day.
The all-important post box, located at the Harrogate International Festivals office on Cheltenham Parade, is open for business until Tuesday, December 24.
Funded by Harrogate BID and produced by Harrogate International Festivals, the North Pole Post Office has become a popular part of the town’s festive celebrations and thousands of letters are received each year.
Session on Counter Terrorism and Martyn’s Law in Harrogate
As some of you may be aware, on September 12th this year, Martyn’s Law was introduced to Parliament.
This means that the public will be better protected against terrorism under new laws, requiring many public venues to improve planning against attacks and bring in measures to help keep people safe.
The new legislation, which is in tribute of Martyn Hett, who sadly lost his life alongside 21 others in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, will make sure venues across the UK must consider the security of the public, and take steps to protect them from harm.
On October 24th, we were pleased to welcome Figen Murray, Martyn Hett’s mother, to Harrogate.
Figen spoke about the legislation and her committed journey to bring this law into practice.
Harrogate Theatre board recruitment
Do you fancy joining the theatre board?! Well they’re currently looking for a new Chair and three additional Trustees!
The team are looking for people to share skills and experience to help develop and build upon achievements as an ambitious, valued and resilient cultural asset in the town.
The application deadline is Wednesday, November 6th – so get in touch as soon as possible if you think this suits you!
To find out more, visit the Harrogate Theatre website here.
BID marks Remembrance with themed lighting
Harrogate BID organised a changeover in its new creative lighting recently as a mark of respect for Remembrance Day.
The series of bulbs, located in the trees around the Cenotaph and on outdoor ceiling lighting along Beulah Street, were changed to a red colour in line with the poppy to highlight the period of remembrance.
The new creative lighting allows the BID to highlight key periods of celebration and remembrance across the year with different patterns and colours, as well as offering a year-round visual spectacle for visitors, residents and local businesses.
HUQ update for November 2024
Here’s an update from our partners at HUQ on data for Harrogate over the last month.
We can see that the highest daily footfall was recorded on Bonfire Night at almost 78,000!
Meanwhile, people travelled from as far as Cowdenbeath in Scotland and Wokingham in London to visit our town…
If you would like to see a specific data set, just email us on info@harrogatebid.co.uk
BID backs new Harrogate themed jigsaw
The Harrogate BID team are delighted to be involved in a brand-new puzzle project helping to promote the North Yorkshire town both nationally and internationally.
The new limited-edition jigsaw, created in partnership with the Business Improvement District (BID), Games Crusade and Ravensburger, was launched exclusively last week.
The puzzle, with more than 1,000 pieces, features an iconic picture of Harrogate from above, in a bid to help promote the town to a wider audience on hundreds of shops shelves and online on both a national and international scale, while providing hours of entertainment.
Theatre offer for BID Members
Harrogate Theatre’s pantomime, Beauty and the Beast opens this week, running from Wednesday 27th November 2024 – Sun 19th January 2025.
The team are delighted to offer all staff of Harrogate BID members £15 tickets to the weekday daytime performances of Beauty and the Beast.
The offer can be redeemed by using the code FESTIVE24 when booking via our Box Office, over the phone, in person or online.
The Box office is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm.
New street art on vacant unit in town centre
We were delighted to provide funding for a brand-new street art project in the town centre.
The new creative piece, designed and placed on the vacant Debenhams unit.
It’s been created by Sam Porter of Mural Minded, who we have worked with in the past to create other masterpieces around the town.
Latest BID Blog
In the November edition of our BID Blog, we’ve delved into the topic of the ‘Golden Quarter’ in the business world and how we can support our town’s economy through the busy Christmas period.
This time of year includes very important dates in the retail calendar, from Black Friday and Cyber Monday to Singles Day and Christmas.
Retail companies can spend prolonged periods planning for the final quarter of the year to ensure they see a significant spike in sales and revenue by creating new campaigns and offers.