Harrogate Borough Council's £45,000 drive to create district 'brand' launched today

Harrogate Borough Council paid marketing firm Thinking Place £45,000 to develop a 'place story' and 'brand' for the region.

The 'Think Harrogate' project has been a year in the making and tonight will be revealed in full to business owners, groups and stakeholders who have contributed to the 'story'.

Council chief executive, Wallace Sampson, said it is aiming to create a "clear and concise" message for businesses and residents to get behind.

He said: "We strongly believe that Harrogate is a really special place. The key message coming out of this is recognising the district's uniqueness, charm and distinctiveness.

"We also recognise that we do need to do things differently - but we as a council can not do everything on our own - it has to be a collaborative effort."

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Preston-based Thinking Place says on its website "we help places maximise their potential" using "tried and tested" branding campaigns to showcase business and residential attractions.

It has run similar projects with councils in Doncaster, St Helens and Coventry.

In the build up to today's launch event, the company has held public workshops and surveys in Harrogate - and a 'Think Harrogate' website will soon be launched.

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Businessman Mark Roberts, who co-founded craft beer company Beer Hawk, is chairing a steering group which will now spearhead the project.

He said: "Lots of different areas are making a lot of noise about themselves and Harrogate needs to do that too.

"But it is not a case that Harrogate does not already have a brand - we just need to mobilise it."