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11
Aug
Council to commit further £200,000 to Harrogate Convention Centre upgrade
North Yorkshire Council is set to commit a further £200,000 to an upgrade of Harrogate Convention Centre to pay for fixtures and fittings.
Work to create larger breakout rooms in the venue’s Studio Two started last month.
The council revealed in March the cost of the project had soared from an estimated £7.1 million to £9.4 million.
The latest increase takes the cost to £9.6 million.
The council said the project will help the convention centre “thrive in the extremely competitive conference market”.
Larger breakout rooms are regarded as a key way of attracting more bookings at the events venue.
In a report due before the council’s executive on August 18, officers at the authority said further funding would be required to pay for fixtures and fittings at the centre.
It said the initial costings for the upgrade did not take into account the cost for fixtures and fittings.
The report said:
Original costings that informed the capital investment funding request did not include for fixtures and fittings. It is recommended that £200k from the Strategic Capacity Reserve is approved to complete the scheme.
The transformation of Studio Two, which will provide breakout conferencing facilities for about 1,200 delegates, is expected to generate more than £1.5 million annually by the 10th year.
Meanwhile, other smaller schemes are being carried out at the site including replacing outdated cooling systems and introducing new carpets and wooden frontages for interior walls.
Work on the upgrade is expected to conclude in late spring 2027, according to the council.
Hike in cost
The move comes as the council appointed Galliford Try to carry out the refurbishment project at the convention centre.
In March, the council revealed the cost to reconfigure studio two at the centre to create additional breakout space had soared from an estimated £7.1 million in December 2024 to £9.4 million.
A "lid-off" architect's CGI of how Studio 2 will be reconfigured.
Senior councillors previously defended the hike in cost of the convention centre project.
In March, Cllr Gareth Dadd said the upgrade to the centre is still “a positive business case” despite the £2.3 million increase in cost.
A council report before an executive meeting on March 17 said that the December 2024 estimate of £7.1 million was a “high level, desk-based estimate based on outline design information”.
Council officials then carried out a “pre-tender estimate” of £8.4 million, which followed a “year of inflation and detailed design development”.
The further rise to £9.4 million was attributed to the contract tender process, which the council's in-house property management company Align Property Services deemed to be at "market value rates”.
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