'Grave concern' over Harrogate hospitality sector warn Lib Dems

With only two weeks to go until all non-essential shops are permitted to reopen within the rules of social distancing, opposition politicians in Harrogate say more support will be required in the coming months from the Government and local authorities.

The Harrogate Lib Dem comments follow last week's shock news about the closure woes of one of Harrogate's oldest hotels, the St George, which was hit by the collapse into administration of its parent company Specialist Leisure Group.

Judith Rogerson, Harrogate & Knaresborough Lib Dems, parliamentary spokesperson said she has been contacted peresonally by worried members of the business community.

She said: "I have been contacted by people working in the local hospitality industry who are gravely concerned about the future of their businesses and don't feel they are getting sufficient support at present.

"We are in a rather unique situation in Harrogate because a major local economic hub has been taken over and converted into a Nightingale Hospital.

"To my mind that puts all the more onus on the Government to support our local SMEs, independent businesses and self-employed people who have been affected."

With Harrogate's economy boasting an unusually high number of small independent businesses, limited company directors and self-employed, the former Lib Dem parliamentary candidate said some people were falling through the gaps in financial support during lockdown.

She said: "The Government support schemes were a good start but they need to go further. They didn’t move fast enough for the self-employed and there are still gaps for people to fall down."

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While welcoming the reopening of Harrogate's shops on June 15, Judith Rogerson warned more measures were still required.

She said: "With the right measures in place I think we can safely re-open.

"I've been really impressed by the hard work done by those working in our local supermarkets to allow us to shop at a safe distance.

"People will need to feel they can move around safely if we are going to get the footfall needed to revive the local economy.

"We’ve seen the beginnings of this with the limited measures to widen the pavements in a couple of streets in Harrogate but I have no doubt people will expect more long terms steps and innovation when the shops start to re-open over the coming weeks.

"But a full scale re-opening will need more support from our councils at the district and county level.

"The Christmas trading period will be all the more so this year as our community recovers from this difficult period of disruption.

"I hope that we can all enjoy Christmas as normally as possible in the retail sector.

"But at the moment the Government just isn’t convincing people they are on their side."

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