Business Plus

We have paid over £15,000 of match funded grants to 26 levy paying businesses.

Business Plus

11% OF TOTAL SPEND TO DATE

It has been an exceptionally difficult year for Harrogate Town Centre and we are very aware of the unprecented actions manyofour members have had to take. In April we sent out a coronavirus impact survey, to better understand what assistance businesses required then and more importantly what support they would need once the lockdown ended.

Over the pandemic we were able to deliver a series of short-term grants to 26 levy paying businesses. measures for our levy payers. These included: • Continuing to run social content on the Harrogate BID channels to keep shops and hospitality in people’s minds: reminding residents what they were missing and were keen to get back to. ‘Shop Harrogate Online’ was launched to encourage residents to use the services of local businesses before turning to national online retailers. Businesses within the Harrogate District were invited to upload their details onto a specially created microsite for free, which was then promoted by The Stray Ferret and us via social media. • To aid businesses in re-opening we produced a series of posters and floor stickers to assist staff and customers with In addition, the appointment of two Harrogate Hosts, who are in the social distancing measures. The ‘Harrogate Welcomes You’ town centre speaking with businesses on a regular basis and pack, which was free to all businesses within the BID district – reporting any issues to HBC, NYCC and North Yorkshire Police, as and contained window graphics, posters and floor stickers. when needed.

In July we announced the setting aside of a budget where levy-paying businesses were able to claim a match-funded grant up to £750 to assist with reopening costs. This fund was re-activated in November in response to the second lockdown for businesses either without an ecommerce website, or those who were looking to upgrade existing ones. We have paid over £15,000 of match funded