Harrogate's fears and hopes as businesses prepare for 'normality'

Scratch the surface of the positive reaction from Harrogate leaders and business groups to new Government plans to reopen parts of the economy and what emerges is a picture of quiet anxiety.
A deserted  Parliament Street in Harrogate on May 12, 2020. (Picture by Gerard Binks)A deserted  Parliament Street in Harrogate on May 12, 2020. (Picture by Gerard Binks)
A deserted Parliament Street in Harrogate on May 12, 2020. (Picture by Gerard Binks)

Along with a sigh of relief of progress at last and hopes of reviving the district’s dormant business community, there is also fear over what exactly comes next.

And the concern, the Harrogate Advertiser discovered, is not exclusively about jobs and profits; it’s the dilemma of how to start trading again without putting lives at risk and underming the nation’s battle to control coronavirus.

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Harrogate BID’s acting chair Sara Ferguson welcomed a reopening of some shops next month but expressed a common worry - how that will work in practice.

She said: “Businesses in the retail sector now have a clear date that they can begin to work to in relation to preparing their shops for a phased reopening.

“Whilst this is welcome news, and the first step in fully opening Harrogate town centre, social distancing and staff and customer safety must be of paramount importance.”

Harrogate BID is now liaising with Harrogate Borough Council on ideas to revive the town centre in the crucial months to come.

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Council leader Richard Cooper said: “While our attention has been on responding to the pandemic and ensuring plans were in place to support the town, we have begun to work on plans for our economic recovery and also our community recovery. But the opening up of businesses and the community organisations must be done in a safe way.

“If we all stick to the guidelines then we will get back to normal more quickly.”

But, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak warning on Wednesday, that Britain now faces a “significant recession” after the country recorded one of the worst five economic quarters since modern records began in 1955 before social distancing had kicked in fully, it’s no surprise the mood remains subdued among Harrogate businesses.

Steve Scarre, President of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said: “Any step forward to reopening the economy has to be welcomed.

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“But, our businesses and, in particular, those in the retail trade will be sceptical until they see the effect on footfall in the town centre following the easing. That to me is the biggest issue we have to address in a safe way.

“It will not be easy to put safe social distancing in place in our hospitality businesses.

“The use of face masks and safe distancing is vital to ensure that we do not have a second surge.

“Even if businesses in the food and drink sector in Harrogate were to reopen in July, that still means they will have been closed for over three months by the time we reach July. That’s a quarter of the year.”

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The broad thrust of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement at the beginning of the week that economic sectors “allowed to be open, should be open,” has gone down well with businesses in Harrogate, not all of whom have been able to switch to online ordering or doorstep delivery.

As well as giving the green light for staff in food production, construction and manufacturing to go back to work, Chancellor Rishi Sunak also stepped in to sooth fears expressed by the likes of the CBI of an ‘economic cliff’ by announcing an extension of the furlough scheme for employees until the end of October.

Simon Cotton, the managing director of Harrogate’s HRH Hotel Group whose portfolio includes The Yorkshire Hotel, is staying positive but even he is remaining cautious about the prospects for Harrogate’s hospitality sector.

He said: “I think the new measures are excellent news and very welcome. We’d like to be allowed to open sooner but talk of the hospitality industry being, perhaps, allowed to reopen in July is very positive. The worry of course is what the trading landscape will look like once we do start to reopen.

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“Will we go back to a summer of high occupancy in hotels? We doubt this very much.

“Will people want to go to restaurants, pubs or have leisure breaks, so much is unknown?”

British Chambers of Commerce has described “the speed and scale at which coronavirus has hit the UK economy as “unprecedented” and is calling for continued Government support to deliver a successful restart of the economy.

Independent Harrogate is warning that many of its 200-plus members are very worried, adding that reopening while social distancing was required would be ‘very difficult or impossible to run at any economic level.’

But this is unlikely to be the last word.

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New developments are sure to follow in lockdown almost as soon as readers have reached the end of this article.

The leader of the opposition on Harrogate Borough Council, Lib Dem Coun Pat Marsh said: “I think there is so much confusion for everyone and much clearer guidance needs to be given to enable local businesses to start again in a safe manner otherwise all that has been achieved over these many weeks may be undone.”

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