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05
Aug 2022
Harrogate Convention Centre to face competition from Leeds events venue
Harrogate Convention Centre is set to face competition from a proposed events venue in Leeds, which has been backed by the city’s planners.
The plans for the former Yorkshire Bank HQ have been recommended for approval by Leeds City Council, which said it had a “long-term aspiration” to bring a conference centre to the city.
A council report said the venue would be a quarter of the size of Harrogate Convention Centre and “focus on significantly smaller events”.
Yet it also said the venue could divert up to 6% of trade away from the convention centre, with further impacts on Harrogate town centre businesses that rely on events.
The proposals come at a crucial time for the 40-year-old Harrogate Convention Centre, which has planned a £47 million redevelopment after warning it is in “critical need” of an upgrade in order to keep its national appeal.
The venue would not comment on whether it supports or opposes the Leeds plans.
But centre director Paula Lorimer did say:
Read more:
- Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment to seek levelling up cash
- Council leader ‘shares disappointment’ over lack of HCC funding in devolution deal
Questions over how the £47 million redevelopment could be funded are lingering after cash for the convention centre was not included in a devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire.
The landmark deal was agreed last week, but Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper refused to sign a letter of support as he said it “falls short of what many of us expected in that it does not deliver guaranteed funding for the convention centre”.
Harrogate Convention Centre.
Separately, the borough council has also bid for convention centre cash from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
But the maximum amount available per project is £20 million and Harrogate is ranked as a low priority area.
A decision on the bid is expected in autumn.
Meanwhile, the Leeds plans would see the former Yorkshire Bank HQ demolished and the conference venue, as well as two blocks of student accommodation, built in its place if the proposals are approved at a meeting next Thursday.
A report said Harrogate Convention Centre’s performance has been “poor” in recent years and that the proposed venue would “look to capitalise on the high demand Leeds events market” as opposed to diverting trade from Harrogate.
It also said the proposed venue would complement the First Direct Arena, which stands next door to the Leeds site on Clay Pit Lane.
The report said:
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