The apparent departure of Paula Lorimer from the helm of Harrogate Convention Centre – as we reported yesterday – poses some important questions.

The obvious one is "who's running it now?". The answer to that could well be head of operations Michael Constantine, although that has yet to be confirmed.

But more importantly, what happens now?

Unusually, Harrogate Convention Centre (HCC) is council-owned and council-run – the only centre in the country to operate under that model, apart from Brighton.

As such, it has long been a drain on council resources, relying on a £2.7 million annual subsidy from the taxpayer. Since the convention centre was opened in 1982, more competitors have entered the market, and in an age when conferences can now be held online, they're arguably chasing fewer events.

As a result, conference organisers are more picky about their venues, and HCC – with its ageing infrastructure – has felt the draught.

So the future of the convention centre has exercised councillors for over a decade. Two-and-a-half years ago, North Yorkshire Council shelled out £23,000 plus VAT to a London firm called 31ten, asking them to “explore opportunities in the marketplace and appraise the best options for taking the venue forward”.

This 'soft market testing' exercise assessed the market, reviewed the facilities, appraised the competition, and came up with five options: do nothing, overhaul HCC radically, invest in facilities to maximise revenue, sell off bits or enter into a joint venture with a private company, or sell the whole thing off.

The 'radical overhaul' option, which was favoured by Ms Lorimer, ended up sporting a £57 million price tag – too much for North Yorkshire Council, who pulled the plug on it in March 2024.

Instead, they went for option 3 (investing in facilities), with a far more modest plan to create breakout spaces for just £7.1 million (now £9.6 million).

HCC estimated at the time that it was turning away enquiries worth around £1 million each year due to its lack of sufficient breakout rooms, so it is hoped the Studio 2 scheme will attract those missing customers and put the centre on course for self-sufficiency.

But those breakout spaces will only become available next year, so how quickly can they possibly turn around HCC's fortunes?

At the heart of all this is the essential truth that the convention centre is a vital component of Harrogate's economy.

It supports over 7,000 jobs across the district, many of them in the struggling hospitality industry, and HCC has calculated that for every pound spent on its premises, £6 is spent the town and surrounding area.

Altogether, HCC is estimated to be worth £45 million to the local economy, so its future is a matter of importance to everyone in Harrogate.

The identity of the person running HCC is for the time being something of a mystery, but whoever it is, they are the one person most likely to be able to answer some crucial questions.

Will they be able to make Studio 2 work?

Will they be able to fill an all too often empty 2,000-seat auditorium with more regularity?

And will they be able to safeguard those 7,000 jobs?

Or will North Yorkshire Council, searching more than ever for ways to save money, start looking again at palming the whole thing off after all?