Senior Conservative councillors confirmed this morning that a proposed £57 million redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre will be scrapped.

But they offered a positive outlook for the facility’s future and heard it could operate without a £2.7m annual council subsidy in less than three years if it can attract outside investment to make smaller improvements.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive met in Northallerton this morning and agreed to discontinue the project it inherited from the defunct Harrogate Borough Council.

A council officer described the project as unaffordable and blamed spiralling building costs which have seen the cost jump from £49m to £57m.

It also failed in a bid to win Levelling Up money worth £20m from the government that would have helped to pay for the project.

The council’s executive member for finance Cllr Gareth Dadd said it had been a “long and arduous task” to get to a decision on the redevelopment which he said would have achieved “dubious outcomes to say the least”.

Executive member for corporate services, Cllr David Chance, said it would have been “ludicrous” to move forward in light of the current financial predicament facing the authority.

The council is facing a £41.6m deficit in its budget this year with significant financial pressures on adult social care and special educational needs.

Cllr Dadd said:

“It was our job to get under the bonnet of the issues and see how the landscape has changed.”

The council will now undertake market testing to see if the venue can attract investment from the private sector or elsewhere. Cllr Dadd also proposed that the council writes to each mayoral candidate for the upcoming York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority urging them to support further investment.

Despite scrapping the redevelopment, Cllr Dadd maintained the council was committed to improving the convention centre and said it was “not the end of the story, far from it”.

The Harrogate Convention Centre opened in 1982 with conferences and events providing a boost to the town’s bars, restaurants and hotels.

North Yorkshire Council says the convention centre contributes £45m a year to the wider Harrogate district economy which Cllr Dadd said “should be ignored at our peril”.

Convention centre director Paula Lorimer came out against the redevelopment, arguing to do so would be counterproductive as it would involve shutting the venue for large periods.

Ms Lorimer is a proponent of creating new break-out spaces for conference delegates, which she believes could attract £1m additional income each year.

She told councillors that last year was the venue’s most successful in many years and if the upturn continues, along with a more commercial business model and investment, the convention centre could be “cost-neutral” for the council within just three years.

Ms Lorimer also suggested the venue could be renamed to reflect “a broader Yorkshire identity”. It was previously known as the Harrogate International Centre until 2017.

She said:

“I’m very committed to getting investment in the HCC but not at any cost, I do feel there are better ways of investing tactically, so we can do parts of the venue each year.”

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Work to repair a crack in the road on the A59 at Kex Gill is unlikely to start until at least the end of the month.

In an update, North Yorkshire Council said the wet weather and “further movement” had delayed and complicated matters.

The A59, which is the main route between Harrogate and Skipton, closed suddenly on February 2 after a crack appeared. It has led to lengthy diversions and increased traffic in places such as Ilkley and Pool-in-Wharfedale.

Barrie Mason, the council’s assistant director for highways and transport, said:

“February has been one of the wettest on record and this persistent rainfall has made the situation worse.

“We are monitoring the landslip daily and have unfortunately seen further movement since the start of the closure. This has resulted in additional investigations to ensure we have the most appropriate and effective repair scheme.

“Designs have now been completed, which will include sheet piling and backfilling, to address the existing slippage and prevent future movement of the road.”

Mr Mason added:

“Given the complexities of the work involved, we are working with our contractor on when it can start, which we hope to be before the end of the month.

“At the same time, we will also carry out any additional works which might be required in this area to minimise any further disruption once the road has re-opened.”

Motorists have previously expressed frustration at the lack of communication about the timeframe for work.

A council map showing Kex Gill.

Some have also questioned whether the closure is linked to work on the £68.8 million realignment of the A59 taking place nearby.

The realignment is being funded by £56.1 million from the Department for Transport and £12.7 million from the council.

Mr Mason said:

“As we have said previously, the A59 at Kex Gill has a long history of landslips and this latest closure is a result of the weather over the past few months.”

He thanked people for their patience and said:

“We understand the delay it is causing to journeys and would reiterate that we are doing all we can to complete the repair as quickly and safely as possible.”

The update does not give a latest estimate for the cost of the repairs, which were previously £115,000.

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Northern Powergrid has begun work on James Street in Harrogate following last weeks power cuts.

Access to the pavement outside department store Hoopers has been diverted onto the road using barriers while the electricity provider conducts repairs.

Multiple businesses along Harrogate’s premier shopping street were affected by intermittent power cuts for five consecutive days last week.

It left several shops unable to trade for periods, forced a dentist to stop emergency surgery mid-surgery and prevented a café from making treats.

Stores along the street will remain open this week while work is carried out.

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid said:

“Our engineers are carrying out investigative work to enable us to identify and repair the fault as soon as possible.

“Intermittent faults can be located anywhere along the local underground route. We use special monitoring equipment to locate the fault, so we can complete a permanent repair to the affected network to prevent further disruption.

“The works will be ongoing for the next couple of days, with a view to completing the excavation works on or by Friday 15 March. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience and thank them for their continued patience.”

Work is set to finish on Friday

Northern Powergrid has announced plans to spend £5.5m on improvements in the area.

The company is hosting a drop-in session today (Tuesday, March 12) from 4pm to 7pm at the Crown Hotel to discuss the plans.

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North Yorkshire Police has urged motorists to stop abusing the lollipop man at Richard Taylor Church of England Primary School in Harrogate.

The lollipop man helps children cross the busy Bilton Lane outside the school.

But following a visit yesterday, police said in a statement:

“We have had reports of anti-social driving with drivers being abusive towards, and failing to adhere to the lollipop man outside Richard Taylor primary school.

“The school crossing patrol is there to ensure the safety of children crossing the road and failure to adhere to a stop sign outside of a school could result in penalty points and a fine.”

During their visit to Bilton, police speed cameras detected 15 vehicles travelling in excess of the 20 mph limit during a 30-minute check at school arriving time.

The statement added:

“We will be back in the area and continue enforcing to help tackle the issue.”

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Brimhams Active, which runs council-owned leisure centres in the Harrogate district, is to be abolished.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive confirmed today it will bring all leisure centres and wellbeing hubs in the county back in-house. The Stray Ferret revealed in November it was planning the move.

It means Brimhams, which was set up less than three years ago by the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council and has overseen the multi-million pound opening and refurbishment of leisure centres in Ripon, Harrogate and Knaresborough, will no longer exist.

The news comes just two months after Knaresborough Leisure and Wellbeing Centre opened.

Brimhams Active, which was set up by the former Harrogate Borough Council in 2021, recently completed multi-million pound refurbishments at the Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre and Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre.

A report prepared for councillors said this was “no reflection” on Brimham’s which delivers “much-valued and high-quality services” at venues including the Turkish Baths in Harrogate and Knaresborough’s new leisure centre and pool.

The company was set up following a strategic review carried out by the borough council, which recommended a local authority controlled company called Brimhams Active be formed to run leisure services in the district.

Its sites include Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre, Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre, the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon and Nidderdale Leisure and Wellness Centre in Pateley Bridge.

Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre

According to the council, the new service which will see a greater focus on health and wellbeing, provide more opportunities for people to participate and be active and focus on addressing inequalities.

The new delivery model, which triggers the start of the next phase of the authority’s strategic leisure review.

Councillors were told that work so far has included input from local communities and sports groups, as well as stakeholders like Sport England and North Yorkshire Sport. A cross-party working group of councillors has also visited sites across the county to help shape the proposals.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for culture, leisure and housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “With one of the largest leisure portfolios in the country we now have the opportunity to transform the way we deliver those services and put us at the forefront of a national movement towards improving physical and mental health and well-being.

“We will be creating a service bespoke to North Yorkshire with locally-based services and targeted provision, with particular emphasis on the needs of groups that may face barriers to participation. The UK population is 20 per cent less active than it was in the 1960s and we want to reverse that be providing the high quality, accessible and inclusive services people want, where they want them.

“We also want to work in greater partnership with the NHS and social care providers as we recognise the benefits of physical activity in preventing and managing long term health conditions.

“This is a very exciting time for leisure in North Yorkshire – local government reorganisation has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look at our expansive portfolio and consolidate the services by building on best practice to create a new sport and active well-being service.”

Currently the council’s leisure portfolio – which includes 19 leisure centres, 16 swimming pools, three well-being hubs, a nursery and Harrogate’s Turkish Baths are run by five different operators.

Those arrangements will be moved to the single in-house model in a phased way – with the aim of the service being fully integrated and transformed by 2028. The first change will be for services in the former Selby district where the contract with IHL comes to an end this year.

The next phase of work is to create a leisure investment strategy, progressing work already undertaken during recent asset condition surveys at the leisure centres. This will look at the condition of each site, their future roles and sustainability as part of the new delivery model and identify sites where investment is needed.

A cycleway looks set to be built on Harrogate’s Station Parade as part of the reduced £11.2 million Station Gateway scheme.

Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire Council‘s executive member for highways and transport, said today the full business case for the scheme had been submitted to West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

He said it included a southbound cycleway on the same side of the road as the bus station, and maintaining two lanes of traffic.

The details have not been released but the decision to keep two lanes of traffic and build a cycleway raises questions about the future of the taxi rank and loading bay on the other side of Station Parade.

The taxi rank

The loading bay

The council scrapped its previous proposals, which included reducing some of Station Parade to single lane and part-pedestrianising James Street, after admitting its plans were legally flawed.

The original scheme was hailed as a key active travel scheme that would be part of a cycle route to Cardale Park so its abandonment disappointed cyclists.

The revised scheme includes better coordinated traffic signals, footways and crossings, public realm improvements to areas including the One Arch tunnel, a bus lane and a southbound cycleway along Station Parade.

Cllr Duncan, who has been chosen to represent the Conservatives in the York and North Yorkshire mayoral election on May 2, said:

“This represents a significant cross-party effort and many hours of discussions.

“While there has been inevitable compromise, there is encouraging agreement on key elements of the revised scheme which takes us closer to securing £11 million of investment for Harrogate.

“Station Parade will remain two lanes, with no pedestrianisation of James Street.”

Cllr Keane Duncan

He added the revised plan “delivers key benefits to all road users”, adding:

“We now standby for approval of the business case before construction can begin, hopefully later this year.

“There will be further public engagement and consultation on the detail of the plan in coming months.”

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Several streets in Harrogate town centre closed this morning due to a bomb scare. Harrogate Magistrates Court was evacuated and police blocked Victoria Avenue, where the court is based, along with several other streets. Police, paramedics and firefighters were at the scene until after midday. Here’s what happened.

1.05pm: Police say enquiries are ‘ongoing’

North Yorkshire Police said no arrests have been made following the incident.

Enquiries are ongoing, the force said, but the scene appears to now be cleared.

12.56pm: Evacuated school issues statement about ‘most unusual day’

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School in Harrogate was evacuated as part of today’s bomb scare.

A spokesperson said:

“We quickly responded to advice from the police and evacuated all staff and pupils  to a local church.  All were calm and happy throughout the process and we would like to thank our staff and our pupils’ parents/carers for their support in dealing with what has been a most unusual day.”

12.48pm: Last police car leaves Victoria Avenue

Things appear to have returned to normal in Harrogate town centre after today’s bomb scare. We still await further information about what happened from the police, but for now it seems the bomb scare is over.

12.37pm: Police cordons being removed

Police are removing cordons and police vehicles are leaving the scene. We haven’t had an official update but it appears the incident may be under control.

Victoria Avenue reopens to traffic.

12.32pm: Aerial view of Victoria Avenue

Brian Simpson has posted this view on X, formerly Twitter. He added:

“I live down the street and there don’t seem to be too many concerns. Certainly they’re not doing a huge amount to stop people moving around Victoria Avenue towards the junction with Station Parade and they’ve even directed some cars that way.”

bomb scare 9 Jan 2023

12.24pm: West Park reopens to traffic

West Park has reopened to traffic. It had been closed at the Prince of Wales roundabout but it has now reopened after the cordon went up on Victoria Avenue.

12.15pm: More cordons go up

Police cordons have now gone up on Victoria Avenue, where firefighters and an ambulance incident response unit are on site, and on Princes Square.

12.10pm: Cordon extended to Raglan Street

The whole of Victoria Avenue is cordoned off, but police have now extended the exclusion area to Raglan Street. Traffic is still blocked from West Park, which leads on to Victoria Avenue, which is the focus of police activity.

12.03pm: Police issue update 

North Yorkshire Police has just issued the following statement:

“We are attending reports of a suspicious vehicle on Victoria Avenue, Harrogate. We ask members of the public to avoid the area for the time being, and we’re very grateful for your patience and understanding.:

11.56am: Bomb scare in car?

An officer at the scene has said the incident is a suspected bomb scare in a car on Victoria Avenue.

Court staff have been evacuated.

11.46am: Police cordons up

Dog walkers heading out of town were turned away from a police cordon across the pavement by the Prince of Wales roundabout.

The Stray Ferret has contacted North Yorkshire Police for details about the incident. We will update this article when more information is available.

West Park is closed to traffic.

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