Get Away campaign group says new empty premises data ominous for traders in Harrogate town centre ahead of the Station Gateway legal challenge hearing
A Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation conducted by the Get Away campaign group has highlighted that the town’s economy is not ready for the impact to trade resulting from the Harrogate Gateway scheme.
Later this month a legal challenge mounted by Get Away group against the scheme will be decided upon and its campaigners argue that if it gets the green light this month, there is a very real possibility that the town could see higher levels of empty trading premises than during the pandemic when many businesses were forced to shut shop.
Data obtained from North Yorkshire Council by the campaign group shows that business fortunes in the town centre have hardly improved since the pandemic which brought about economic turmoil across the country. In 2022 at the height of coronavirus some 28% of properties were empty whilst two years later, nearly a quarter of all properties are still empty.
Says local businessman Steven Baines, spokesperson for the campaign group: “The council says that it remains focussed on working to deliver the scheme for the benefit of businesses. But it’s clear that they’re just not listening to local traders who have said overwhelmingly that they do not want the scheme. They haven’t even undertaken an economic impact assessment of their plans so how do they know what the effect it will have on trade.
“Businesses are already struggling in the town centre due to cost of living pressures on consumers and the increase in national insurance contributions they have to make. A scheme they bitterly oppose on trading grounds is the last thing they want to see happen.”
David Waddington from Hornbeam Park Developments, added: “The council’s empty promises that this scheme will be good for the town will regrettably just lead to more empty businesses in the town centre and we’ll be back to a situation worse than we saw during the pandemic.
“The bottom line is that whilst the council says that we cannot afford to miss out on the funding that is backing this scheme, the reality is the business community cannot afford for it to progress otherwise they will be on their knees and the centre will become a ghost town.”
A recent survey of nearly 200 traders revealed that 91% were against the scheme. Major concerns raised by the business community include uncertainty about the impact it will have on local trade, lack of consultation and clarity over what the final scheme will look like, disruption during the construction works and lack of evidence that Station Gateway would have a positive impact for Harrogate. Also 94% of respondents said the Gateway plans would not benefit local people and visitors while a similar number (93%) doubted that it would benefit the local economy.
