OPINION: Be proud to shout out about Harrogate - Matthew Chapman, BID manager

This vibe got me thinking; “what makes a place good?” And alongside a really exciting time of announcing and delivering key 2022 objectives for Harrogate BID, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to a number of places over the past month; London, Hull, Paris, Leicester, The Lakes and the Yorkshire Coast to name a few.

What really stood out for me on these trips was people, and that people really do make a place. I certainly don’t want to talk any one place down, but when I was in London, as expected, it was 1000 mph! Everyone with heads down staring into their phone, seemingly no consideration for their fellow humans, customer service pretty average everywhere and in all honesty pretty soulless.

Flip that round to the day I arrived back in Harrogate; a cheery ‘good morning’ from the chap on the train station ticket barrier, a chat about the football with the staff at the Victoria Shopping Centre, flowers in bloom everywhere, a lovely conversation with an older lady whilst having my lunch on a bench at the Cenotaph, a group of people helping a man that had tripped over a kerb. It felt so much nicer, welcoming and alive; and again, people really do make a place.

Now this clearly isn’t everything, but the other thing that stood out for me was the experiential factor. I’ve been shot down for in the past by calling it the ‘Disney effect’, but I continue to stand by my comment, and that people want to experience, enjoy, share, laugh, smile, and this is what we need to encompass our place with.

One of our aims is for Harrogate to be welcoming to visitors, and to assist this most weekends will see two ‘Harrogate Hosts’ walking about the town centre. If you so see them in their Yorkshire Tweed outfits, then please do say hello!

My reason for traveling to Paris was to run the Paris Marathon, which in itself was an experience! Alongside this there was the obvious tourist attractions, pop up markets, street entertainers, green spaces, super hospitality which were all, you guessed it, delivered by engaging people. Harrogate absolutely has all of these things too, and we should be so proud to shout about them.

You may well have also read in this week’s Harrogate Advertiser about one of the exciting experiential offers coming to Harrogate within a matter of weeks – ‘The Platinum Party on the Jubilee Square’ – to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 70 years of service. Please do take a look and come along as it plans to be four days of fun-filled activities for all the family.

The final thing that stood out for me is character and pride. The Parisians seemed to peddle this quite well, but the place I saw it stand out the most was Hull! Whether it be a carved fish trail on the pavements, street dressing, undoubted passion towards their sporting clubs, delight in boasting about the ‘old town’ and their white telephone boxes, Hull seemed to really embrace everything about themselves, good or not so good.

I for one know from the people I meet daily that Harrogatians are even more passionate about their town, and I hope as many people can join me in sharing that with the thousands of people who come to visit, not just over the coming weeks, but the coming months and even years. One project I’m really excited about is showcasing the town through our ‘Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration’ which was unveiled at last week’s Spring Flower Show. This will just another great reason to visit Harrogate this summer and enjoy the floral trail, displays, hanging baskets and window displays.