Chamber has worked with Renaissance Knaresborough and the Civic Society, supported by funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund, to commission a report that seeks to understand opportunities for tourism development in Knaresborough.
As a market town with great appeal for visitors, on whom many businesses rely, this data provides invaluable intelligence for future developments in the town. It also reflects the perspectives of local residents who also want our town to be a great place to live as well as visit.
Congratulations to the winners of our recent Jubilee Dressup Competition. We had lots of great entries, but we really liked the innovative nature of Amanda and Joanna’s ‘Trooping the Colour’. They even had their own trainer!
Amanda, one half of the winning horse ‘Betsy’ commented
‘We’re so pleased that the Chamber appreciated our mad idea. It was a hot day to be wearing a horse’s head, but worth every minute when we saw people’s reaction’
Co-winner Joanna and her husband Max, who moved to Knaresborough in March, would love a shout out to the wonderful community spirit and the local businesses who have blown them away with their welcome and customer service since they moved here, including Huttons, Appletons, Wild Thing, Perfect Nails, Fred Browns and Kelly Teggin Hair and Beauty. Hopefully they will choose to spend their £50 winnings in one of Knaresborough’s fantastic local businesses!
When not dressed as a horse, Joanna works for the organisers of the new Marco Pierre White Food Festival, which is coming to Harrogate at the end of October to celebrate the great Yorkshireman’s 45th year in catering.
We ran our ‘Dress up for Jubilee’ competition in honour of the Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee. Entrants were asked to upload a photo of themselves or their team in their best 1950’s or Jubilee themed outfit using #knaresboroughjubileedressup and tag in @knaresboroughct. There was a £50 cash prize for the lucky winner. The person uploading the photo had to have the consent of anyone featured, or their parent or guardian if under 18.
The competition launched on Monday 30 May 2022 and closed on Monday 6 June 2022. See full terms and conditions below.
There were also various community events taking place over the Jubilee Bank Holiday period, including a children’s flag making workshop, a flag parade through the town, an artisan market in the Market Place, 1950’s themed Garden Party and live entertainment in the grounds of Knaresborough House and a dog show on St John’s Church field. You can find out more by joining the official Knaresborough Jubilee Facebook group or following the Platinum Jubilee Facebook Page.
Dress up for the JubileeCompetition Terms and Conditions
Promoter: Knaresborough Chamber of Trade & Commerce, c/o 8 York Place, Knaresborough, England, HG5 0AA
Opening and closing date: The competition will launch on Monday 30 May 2022 and close at 11.59pm on Monday 6 June 2022.
How to enter: The competition is open to any person or organisation in the HG5 postcode area who uploads a photo to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram of themselves or their team in 1950’s or Jubilee fancy dress, using the hashtag #greatknaresboroughdressup. The person uploading the photo must have the consent of anyone featured, or their parent or guardian if under 18.
The Promoter accepts no responsibility for entries which are not successfully registered, or which are delayed, due to a technical fault, technical malfunction, computer hardware or software failure, satellite, network or server failure of any kind.
Prizes: There is one cash prize of £50, as stated.
Winner selection: One winner will be drawn by a panel of judges from all valid entries within 10 working days of the closing date.The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into, except with the winner(s). The winner may be asked to participate in publicity following selection.
Notification: The winner will be notified by the promoter using the details displayed on their social media account, or if necessary via Direct Message or the contact section of their business website. If the winner fails to respond to the notification within 14 days of receipt, the prize will be awarded to the runner up. The winner should allow 28 days from responding to the promoters notification for delivery of their prize.
Winners details: The winners details (name or company only) will be available 28 days from the competition closing date for a period of 6 weeks by sending a SAE requesting the information to c/o 8 York Place, Knaresborough, England, HG5 0AA.
Agreement to terms and condition: entry to this competition constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions and an agreement to be bound by them.
Withdrawal of competition: The promoter reserves the right to withdraw, cancel, suspend this competition or amend these terms and conditions without prior notice and without liability to any party if it becomes necessary to do so.
Chamber is part of a group of community organisations that are exploring key issues relating to the future reorganisation of local government.
A recent event organised by Chain Lane Community Hub and Knaresborough Connectors, but involving about a dozen other town groups, reviewed findings from several recent local surveys to identify areas where working together could bring positive change. Charlotte Gale attended the three hour workshop on behalf of Knaresborough Chamber, with Peter Lacey also chairing the event.
The group includes members of the new Town Council, so we’ll hopefully be singing from the same hymn sheet as a town when discussing what responsibilities we wish to see devolved from the new Unitary Authority from April 2024.
There were also other matters of significance for local businesses which came out of the recent surveys. These included attracting businesses that could fill town centre gaps and in encouraging more people from the town and surrounding areas to use the centre for shopping and recreation. Chamber will continue to play a key role in these discussions going forward.
One of the key things which has been highlighted by Chamber surveys and group discussions is the importance of local trade for many businesses in the town.
Whilst some do rely heavily on tourists, many are almost entirely dependent on local residents or businesses. The new housing developments on the outskirts of the town will bring many new residents to Knaresborough, many of whom may struggle to feel part of the community due to geographical location.
Chamber recognised an opportunity to engage with this new potential customer base and have worked with Knaresborough Town Council, Knaresborough Connectors, Knaresborough Rotary and Knaresborough Lions to produce a ‘Beginners Guide to Knaresborough’ booklet, ably narrated by Roger the Town Crier.
These booklets have been delivered to new residents and also distributed to local estate agents. New residents can also find out more information on the knaresborough.community website, managed by Knaresborough Connectors.
