My column this week is about the local economy and how Yore Vision’s projects are all geared towards key economic outputs of job creation and skills development. The past few months have been a very busy time for two of our project groups, namely those concerned with our proposed Arts/Business Forum at Aldborough and the Centre of Rural Enterprise, which we shorten to CORE.
The Arts/Business Forum team recently appointed a team of consultants to begin the feasibility study into this proposal. Right Angle Management, based in Staveley, were successful from an impressive shortlist drawn together by Yorkshire Forward and the great thing about them is that they are local and therefore understand the dynamics of the Lower Ure Valley and its economy. Their task is now to determine for Yore Vision whether such a centre is viable commercially, meets local and regional demand and would fit in with the heritage of Aldborough, particularly the Roman town and its importance. We met with the consultants on Thursday last week to start bringing together our thoughts – it was extremely informative with representatives from English Heritage, NYCC Museums Service and HBC Regeneration as part of the team. There are a variety of existing arts centres, which have evolved into business/conference venues but we couldn’t find any in the North of England and none which had begun as a vision of arts and business as equal partners in the venture. I’m sure someone somewhere will tell me I’m wrong - but for the moment, Yore Vision are happy that the ABF vision for Aldborough is unique. My thanks go to Andrew Lawson-Tancred for hosting the day for the team at Aldborough Manor.

The Centre of Rural enterprise is one of the original objectives for what was the Town Team some years ago and we are now at the stage where Yorkshire Forward have appointed consultants- a York-based practice – to progress the feasibility study. The stage we are at now is about bringing people from the Business Link, universities and colleges, YF, Boroughbridge High School and others together to start putting “meat on the bones” of this proposal. My thanks to Elaine Dixon who has been indefatigable in her efforts to ensure this project comes to fruition.

For those of you who are members, our 1st AGM will be held in Boroughbridge, venue TBC, on Thursday 10th May at 7 for 7.30pm. William Culver-Dodds, Director, Harrogate International Festival has accepted the invitation to be our guest speaker at this event, where I hope he will share his thoughts on cultural/arts festivals and partnerships in North Yorkshire, particularly the Green spaces Festival, which was so successful in 2006 that William and team are preparing for this year’s event to be held in June.

Finally, an apology. A number of membership application forms have gone missing in transit from Boroughbridge to Harrogate Borough Council, which means that a number of people who filled in their details on our forms have not had their applications progressed. If you recently filled in an application form, handed it into the Community Office in Hall Square, B’bridge but have heard nothing since, please get in touch with me at the e-mail address below or with Peter Crossley at HBC on 01423 556019 or peter.crossley@harrogate.gov.uk

Regards

Keith Ramsay

Kt@jack91.fsnet.co.uk