Harrogate Borough Council
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3 April 2008:
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.
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT: Gordon Renton of
Knaresborough Renaissance on 01423 867835 and Keith Ramsey of Yore
Vision on 07989851744.