Column: Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID - ​One of the UK’s top floral destinations

​Well the summer season (perhaps not the weather!) is in full flow and at Harrogate BID we are shaking off the petals as we applaud our colleagues, partners and suppliers through the Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration.
By Zoe Drye
Published 17th Aug 2023, 14:00 BST
Harrogate Floral Summer Of Celebration. Pictured Matthew Chapman and Bethany Allen of Harrogate bid launching the floral trail.Harrogate Floral Summer Of Celebration. Pictured Matthew Chapman and Bethany Allen of Harrogate bid launching the floral trail.
Harrogate Floral Summer Of Celebration. Pictured Matthew Chapman and Bethany Allen of Harrogate bid launching the floral trail.

​This BID led Britain in Bloom nominated campaign saw heaps of people admiring our internationally themed displays that really did display Harrogate as one of the UK’s top floral destinations. A big thank you to the many people and organisations that supported.

So what’s next!?

The third annual Harrogate Beer Week will be here before you know it. This town-wide celebration of Harrogate’s craft beer, brewing heritage, and beer in the local community takes place September 18-24. A programme of special events and initiatives is planned in your favourite beer themed venues. You can find more info here – www.harrogatebeerweek.co.uk

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We are exploring a new and unique October music weekender that will be announced very soon. Spread over three days from rock to dance and lip syncs to brit pop, Harrogate BID hopes to lighten up those Autumn evenings.

And of course, its getting to that time of year again – Christmas! The Harrogate Christmas offer gets bigger and better each year with the 2023 Christmas Fayre extended to 10 days. This eclectic mix of local traders and traditional European stalls alongside the famous Father Christmas Experience, renowned Christmas lights, North Pole post office, free road train, ice rink and much more could even get scrooge feeling festive!

As I’m sure many of you are aware, that in June, Harrogate BID was successful in its ballot process for another five year term. The first two objectives in the 2024-2028 business plan; pride in our town and; a vibrant town are very much building on the achievements of term one.

The third objective; voice and vision, is advancing ourselves into a new and exciting area of long-term strategy, understanding the future of town and city centres and apprehending how we can collaborate to ensure Harrogate is very much providing the best possible opportunities.

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Just one of the ways in which we have been invited to bolster this is by attending the ‘complete retail marketplace and Revo conference’. This is a one-day event where landlords, agents, national chains, independents, and entrepreneurs are matched with town centre organisations such as BIDs. We have been selected to represent Harrogate and the team and I are very much looking forward to promoting our town and encouraging new and existing businesses to consider Harrogate in their future plans.

It has also been fantastic to see a good number of new businesses open in Harrogate over the past couple of months. From Muffin Break on Cambridge Street to Clegg Gifford on Princes Street and SELF on Station Square – welcome to Harrogate!

As always, we very much welcome your feedback, views and support at Harrogate BID so please don’t hesitate in getting in touch by emailing [email protected].

Related topics:HarrogateBIDBidsAutumn