OVER ONE MILLION POUNDS FOR KNARESBOROUGH AND BOROUGHBRIDGE

OVER £1.1m is being invested in the market towns of Knaresborough and Boroughbridge following the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward, agreeing to support a number of improvement projects across the towns with a £500,000 grant.

In addition to the contribution from Yorkshire Forward, funding to support the improvement package is anticipated from a number of sources, including Harrogate Borough Council and contributions from the private sector.

As part of Yorkshire Forward’s Renaissance Market Town (RMT) programme, Harrogate Borough Council’s Regeneration Team has been working alongside the local community regeneration partnerships (Renaissance Knaresborough and Yore Vision) to develop these proposals to improve the economic and physical fabric of both Knaresborough and Boroughbridge. 

The package includes a mixture of public realm improvements (primarily Knaresborough Riverside and St James Square in Boroughbridge); grant improvement schemes for the visual enhancement, restoration and re-use of commercial town centre buildings.

It also includes the development of customer care skills through the “Welcome to Excellence” programme which offers courses, including the hugely successful Welcome Host course specific to the tourism, retail and hospitality industry.

Businesses and service providers in Knaresborough and Boroughbridge are being invited to attend one or more of these courses.

The first Welcome Host event is being held on 17 April.  The aim is to help businesses stand head and shoulders above the competition in other towns, win repeat business, attract higher quality staff and improve staff retention whilst helping to promote Knaresborough and Boroughbridge as quality destinations.

This introductory course is being held from 9.30am until 4.30pm on Thursday 17 April 2008 at Conyngham Hall, Knaresborough.

Places are limited, so please don’t delay but book your place today by calling Dan Harper on 01423 799149.  The cost is just £35 per person.

‘Welcome to Excellence’, is a nationally recognised programme of courses and is the only customer service training programme in the UK recommended by Regional Tourist Board Partnerships.

Each of the courses focuses on different elements of customer care.  They are designed to suit both new and highly experienced staff – including front-line employees, managers, business proprietors and volunteers – working in a whole range of tourism, retail and hospitality trades.

The next courses are: ‘Welcome All’ (providing participants with practical advice and cost-effective ideas to enhance service quality for customers with disabilities and specific needs) and ‘Welcome Line’ (looking at effective telephone and email communication and how to convert enquiries into sales) will be run in May and June respectively.