Town Centre survey issues still stand now as Harrogate awaits improvements and changes

When the Harrogate Advertiser launched its ground-breaking Town Centre Survey in the summer of 2018 it was a very different world.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Harrogate Town Centre Survey: How much has changed since we asked the public for their views on the future of the town

It feels like a lifetime ago as we face up to more months living with the pandemic - but, in one way at least, as we reach the second anniversary of revealing our survey’s results, times were the same then as they are now

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

People were desperately worried about footfall in the retail sector, shop closures and empty premises.

Shops on Parliament Street in Harrogate.Shops on Parliament Street in Harrogate.
Shops on Parliament Street in Harrogate.

Close to 1,000 readers filled in our survey, identifying a range of problems and solutions in the hope that action might be taken by the relevant authorities.

Among the improvements readers wanted to see were:

* The introduction of a park and ride scheme;

* More public events in the town centre;

* More independents in the main town centre streets;

* Change and improve Victoria Shopping Centre.

In the context of the current Covid pandemic which followed two years of wrangling over Brexit, it’s easy to assume that there can have been no progress since then.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It cannot be denied that the virus has had a huge impact on Harrogate’s town centre, transforming the behaviour of customers and traders alike, cutting capacities and slashing incomes.

But the incentive to affect change and make improvements has grown rather than diminished.

Life hasn’t stood still in this most troubled of eras but how far, really, have we travelled on the route to save Harrogate town centre set out by readers answers to this newspaper’s survey two years ago?

Has improving the town centre stalled or is change ongoing and likely to increase?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sara Ferguson, acting chair of Harrogate Business Improvement District, told the Harrogate Advertiser this week it had taken steps during the pandemic to make the town centre more welcoming for shoppers and was in the process of finalising its ‘Christmas action plan’.

She said: “Many of the answers to the 2018 survey still stand today, and Harrogate BID is addressing a number of these. The biggest game-changer has been Covid but we have already undertaken a deep clean of the town centre, are boosting the town’s floral displays and are tidying empty shops to make the town more welcoming.

“We are just finalising our Christmas action plan which will see the town lit up like never before, plus a festive campaign to encourage more people to come into town.”

But the chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, Sandra Doherty, pictured inset, would argue that not enough has changed and the threats to the town centre are now greater than ever.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “Looking at the answers from two years ago, I’d say very little has changed, except far more people now do their shopping online as a matter of course.

“For Harrogate town centre to survive, we need to break this new habit and encourage them to come back to the high street and revisit our retail and hospitality offering.”

The local authorities with the biggest say over changing Harrogate town centre maintain they are still actively pursuing improvements.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council say their commitment to both the multi-million pound ‘Gateway’ project, which would create a more-pedestrian-friendly town centre, and the introduction of park and rides has not weakened.

In an effort to boost fotfall and ease social distancing, traffic cones remain on the road of James Street, a prime shopping area, as part of a partial pedestrianisation in the run-up to Christmas.

Harrogate Borough Council leader Coun Richard Cooper is on the record as wanting to pedestrianise three streets in the town centre, a view still controversial in some business circles in town.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Coun Cooper said: “Online retail is not going away. The clock cannot be turned back.

“We need pedestrian-friendly town centres with new events-based attractions to pull people in.

“We need more town centre community facilities, more residential living in the town centre and more small, independent shops.

“This will mean huge changes in the way businesses view our town centres and I think that vision is still the subject of debate among businesses themselves.”

A message from the Editor

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.