Bid to boost trade for town’s beleaguered business sector

Northallerton has had no unified voice since the Chamber of Trade folded six years ago, and concerns are growing that the fractured nature of the town’s business sector could lead to enterprises being forced to close.

A meeting is being organised by Gareth Dant, a former journalist who runs a PR company from offices in the town, in the hope of bringing together a more co-ordinated approach to promoting Northallerton’s trade.

Mr Dant said: “The Chamber of Trade did a valiant job, but I’m told it tended to be same people making all the running and bothering to turn up. No wonder it ran out of steam. We have a wonderful town with many great things to be proud of and shout about, but times are hard – and getting harder. We can’t just sit back and wait for someone else to make that noise on our behalf.”

Mr Dant, who has worked with a range of businesses and organisations in the Northallerton area including the Lewis & Cooper delicatessen and Herriot Hospice Homecare, has raised the issue with political representatives, retailers and other business owners in the town.

The first moves are underway to boost trade by using social media websites including Twitter and Facebook, and a marketing drive is being planned for the run-up to Christmas. Plans also include compiling an email database of members of the new group, which has a provisional title of the Northallerton Retail and Business Forum.

Northallerton Chamber of Trade’s last chairman, Jim Turnbull, has run the Atlantis pet shop in Northallerton with his wife, Carol, since it opened in 1975.

He said: “We all want Northallerton to be as viable as possible, and the new group can only be a good thing. The old system with the Chamber of Trade was not working, so we do need to update things and perhaps use modern technology which needs to be explained to business owners. Hopefully this new group will help at a time when things are difficult economically for everyone.”

The forum will meet for the first time at Northallerton Town Hall on October 25 at 6pm.

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