Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
07
Jun
Council reveals contract details for £9.4m Harrogate Convention Centre upgrade
North Yorkshire Council has revealed details of a contract for a £9.4 million upgrade of Harrogate 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.
Increasing breakout space is seen as key to attracting larger conferences and generating more income.
Creating breakout facilities for 1,200 delegates could generate an extra £1.7 million annually, the authority has claimed.
At the time, Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader of the council, claimed the hike in cost was down the contract tender process and inflation — however details of the contract were kept secret from the public.
Cllr Gareth Dadd
Now, the authority has revealed that Galliford Try, a construction company based in Uxbridge, has been commissioned to carry out the work with a contract value of £9.8 million.
The Stray Ferret asked the council why the value of the contract appeared to be more than the cost of the convention centre project.
A spokesperson for the council said:
The £9.4 million figure quoted in the executive papers on 17th March 2026 is the overall project value and excludes VAT (which can be claimed back by local authorities). This is made up of both the Galliford Try contract and includes fees and other associated project costs.
The figure quoted on the Contract Finders website is for Galliford Try’s work cost only and includes VAT, which will be claimed back by the council.
It comes as senior councillors previously defended the hike in cost of the convention centre project.
In March, Cllr Dadd said the upgrade to the centre is still “a positive business case” despite the £2.3 million increase in cost.
A "lid-off" architect's CGI of how Studio 2 will be reconfigured.
Cllr Dadd added that the hike in cost would also mean the time period for payback for the project would need to be extended.
He said:
The estimated cost would have given us a payback over eight years. The new tender price given inflation — and everybody recognises inflation — will give us a payback over 10 years.
So, a slightly worsened situation but still a positive business case.
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”.
0