‘Once you’ve been to Bettys you’ve done Harrogate’, claims Ripon councillor

Councillor Andrew Williams, independent councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire County Council, was speaking at the final Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee meeting before the new North Yorkshire Council forms on April 1.

He referred to the sometimes thorny relationship between Harrogate and Ripon and said reorganisation is a chance for the city to be presented in a different way to tourists.

Ripon is currently marketed as a tourist destination within Destination Harrogate — Harrogate Borough Council’s destination management organisation (DMO).

But the DMO’s future is unclear as the new council looks to set up a county-wide tourism strategy instead.

Councillor Williams was critical of how Ripon has sat within Destination Harrogate.

He said: “[We need to] remove the idea that Ripon is somehow linked to Destination Harrogate - it should be Destination Ripon.

“We are two very distinct localities and we don’t want to be marketed as a day trip from Harrogate – we’re far more than a day trip from Harrogate.

“Once you’ve been to Bettys you’ve done Harrogate, quite frankly.”

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Officers spoke to councillors about the economic opportunities in Ripon, which included a presentation in how the city’s economy has performed since Covid.

Dave Caulfield, who will be assistant director economic development at the new council, said tourism is crucial to Ripon’s economy and the city’s offer will form part of a new tourism strategy that is being developed for North Yorkshire.

But Councillor Williams said the report presented a “rose-tinted view” of Ripon.

He called on the new council to “listen to local people in Ripon and work with them rather than ignoring them".

In response, Mr Caulfield said: “It’s important we do listen as a new council.

"We want to look at opportunities to do things better when we can.”

There were also warms words for Ripon from David Staveley, Conservative councillor for Settle and Penyghent.

He told Councillor Williams: “You are stepping out of the shadow of Harrogate and you will be equal partners here.

"Ripon has an awful lot to offer.”

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