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07
Feb 2023
Council appoints contractor to design £49m Harrogate Convention Centre revamp
Harrogate Borough Council has appointed a contractor to draw up designs and “cost certainty” for its £49 million Harrogate Convention Centre revamp.
The authority has commissioned Hertfordshire company BAM Construction Limited to provide it with technical designs for the project at a cost of £3.3 million.
The convention centre is currently owned by Harrogate Borough Council, which will hand over ownership of the venue on April 1 to North Yorkshire Council.
Senior borough council officials have previously warned the venue could lose up to £250 million over the next 40 years unless the redevelopment is carried out.
However, there is no guarantee the upgrade will go ahead.
Following the appointment of a contractor, a spokesperson for the council said:
Amid the transition to the new council on April 1, the borough council required consent from North Yorkshire County Council to appoint BAM Construction.
The county council told the Stray Ferret it had consented to the award of the contract for technical designs, but any approval for construction would be made at a later date.
Gary Fielding, director for strategic resources at the council, said:
Funding struggles
The move comes shortly after the borough council was dealt a blow in its efforts to fund the project.
Last month, the government rejected the authority’s bid of £20 million from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ flagship levelling up fund.
Read more:
- New council chief questions future of Harrogate Convention Centre
- New board to review Harrogate Convention Centre operating model
- Government rejects £20m levelling up bid for Harrogate Convention Centre
Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of the council, said he was “disappointed” and “slightly surprised” at the decision.
Meanwhile, Richard Flinton, who will be chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, has refused to commit to the £49 million redevelopment.
Speaking at a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting in January, he said the conference and events venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.
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