Harrogate's town centre vote: Result soon

Today is the big day Harrogate will learn whether it will improve its town centre in tough times by becoming a a Business Improvement District.

In the build-up to the closing date of the ballot of Harrogate businesses last night, the chair of the team pushing for Harrogate to vote in favour of BID said it was a great opportunity to deliver a better town centre with greater footfall and fewer empty retail units.

But will Harrogate businesses vote 'yes' to creating a levy to raise a Â£3 million budget to make improvements in Harrogate town centre to help businesses thrive in challenging times for the retail sector?

The result of the ballot, via the Electoral Reform Society, will be announced today, Friday, November 9.The location is Hotel du VIn on West Park. The time is 4.30pm.

Should the result be in the negative, the chance for a Harrogate BID is unlikely to come again soon, such has been the cost and time involved with organising this attempt at joining more than 300 other towns and cities in the UK which currently operate a BID, which is a “partnership between a local authority and local businesses which is intended to provide improvements to the public sphere within a specified geographical area.”

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