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19
Aug
Harrogate Convention Centre: council gives update on key decision
Councillors are expected to consider the future of Harrogate Convention Centre this autumn.
North Yorkshire Council, which owns the events and conference venue, agreed early this year to pay London consultants 31ten £23,000 to assess options for the development and operation of the site.
The options include, amongst others, selling the site, running it in partnership with a private firm and finding alternative uses.
There have been no developments for almost half a year, so the Stray Ferret asked for an update on the consultants’ work and when its report was likely to be available.
A council spokesperson said 31ten completed the work “within the deadline agreed” but “consideration of the completed work has been slightly delayed” due to the general election.
Asked when people could expect an update, the spokesperson replied:
The council will provide an update on the project once officers and members have considered future plans in the autumn.
They added the outcomes and recommendations within the 31ten report “will not be shared until it has been considered by our management board and elected members this autumn”.
We also asked when a decision on the centre’s future was expected to be made. The spokesperson said:
The 31ten report has yet to be considered. It is not possible to give a timeframe on decisions relating to Harrogate Convention Centre until the report is considered.
They added the council’s current consultation on its cultural strategy, which will determine how arts, heritage and culture are managed and promoted in North Yorkshire, “is not connected to the 31ten report or future strategic decisions on the future” of the centre.
The council spent almost £2 million on consultants to come up with plans to upgrade Harrogate Convention Centre previously.
Those plans were scrapped when the council decided not to proceed with the upgrade and consequently hired 31ten to come up with a fresh vision.
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