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13
Feb 2023
Harrogate council spends £45,000 on outside help for failed Levelling Up bid
Harrogate Borough Council has revealed it spent £45,000 on outside help when it put together its failed bid for government Levelling Up money.
Last year the council bid for £20 million that would have gone towards a proposed £49 million redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.
But the bid was refused by the government last month, throwing into doubt the future of the venue it has owned and run since opening in 1982.
Following a freedom of information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority said it spent £45,000 on “legal, design and financial input and guidance” related to the bid proposal.
A council spokesperson said this was to “ensure the best possible chance” of it being successful.
Despite Harrogate being in the lowest priority area for Levelling Up funding, convention centre director Paula Lorimer told councillors at a meeting last week it would likely bid again when a third round of funding worth £1 billion opens.
Ms Lorimer warned Harrogate would “wither on the vine” if the facility closed because of its importance to the town’s business and leisure sectors.
The ownership of the venue will be handed over to the new North Yorkshire Council on April 1.
Read more:
- Government rejects £20m levelling up bid for Harrogate Convention Centre
- Harrogate council pays out almost £20,000 in compensation to tenants due to damp
Andrew Williams, North Yorkshire independent councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire County Council, said he didn’t begrudge Harrogate Borough Council bidding for Levelling Up money but the refusal should show the council “that the government doesn’t think the redevelopment is worthwhile.”
Cllr Williams said:
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:
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