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24
Nov 2020
New report reveals additional £1.6m civic centre cost
A new council report has revealed it cost £1.6m to fit out the interior of its civic centre at Knapping Mount.
The report, set to go before cabinet next week, sets out the final construction cost at £11.5m and the new figure of £1.6m. The council says that the overall project came under its £13m budget.
It comes after the contractor, Harry Fairclough Ltd, went into administration - delaying the final construction bill. The report also reveals that the delay was partially caused by negotiations over defects.
The Stray Ferret investigated the overall cost of the move from Crescent Gardens to Knapping Mount in July and put the figure closer to £17m.
We revealed that the council's calculations for the costs of the civic centre did not take into account the value of the land at Knapping Mount. The land had originally been earmarked for housing.
Read our investigation for a breakdown of how we reached that figure.
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We also reported on how the decision to build a circular building could have added up to 20% onto the build cost - making the design and construction expensive.
In our calculations in July we had a figure of £400,000 for the fit out costs and £865,000 for design expertise. The newly confirmed figure of £1.6m for fitting out the building makes the true overall cost to the tax payer at more than £17m.
The council disputed our figures. It argued that the overall cost was lower because of money received in the sale of its other premises.
From the sale of its other council buildings, this new report identifies an extra £2.47m saving which the council has described as a "massive saving".
The Stray Ferret's investigation has not disputed the council's figures. We argued that the council could have also benefited from the sale of the land at Knapping Mount which we estimated at £4.5m with outline planning permission and built a cheaper building in a cheaper location.
Cllr Graham Swift, the deputy leader at Harrogate Borough Council, said ahead of the cabinet meeting:
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