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19
Oct 2024
Victoria Shopping Centre value doubles in three years
The value of Harrogate’s Victoria Shopping Centre has more than doubled in three years.
Despite the changing face of the high street, the shopping centre appears to have recovered from a dramatic fall in valuation.
The Stray Ferret reported that the freehold of the centre was worth just £925,000 in 2020/21 — an 80% fall from £4.8 million a decade prior.
At the time, Harrogate Borough Council, which owned the building but did not manage it, said it hoped the building would play a key role in plans for the town centre, including the controversial Station Gateway scheme.
Now, the Stray Ferret can reveal that last year the centre had an estimated value of £1.95 million — more than double its price three years ago.
However, it remains below its peak value of £4.8 million in 2011/12.
The valuation was revealed in a freedom of information request by the Stray Ferret which North Yorkshire Council initially refused on commercial grounds, but responded to on appeal.
Victoria Shopping Centre valuation
- 2020/21: £925,000
- 2021/22: £1,500,000
- 2022/23: £1,550,000
- 2023/24: £1,955,000
- 2024/25: Information not held. The valuation for this year has not yet taken place.
It comes as the future over the ownership of the centre has come under question in recent years after it was put on the market in 2023 for £6 million.
Over the last 12 months, North Yorkshire Council, which owns the building following the abolition of the borough council in April 2023, has embarked on a review of its properties with an aim of making savings.
The Stray Ferret asked the authority whether it intended to sell the shopping centre and, if not, what its plans were for it.
A spokesperson for the authority said:
The freehold owned by North Yorkshire Council is not for sale. As part of our ongoing property strategy, we constantly review our assets to ensure they provide good value for money for our residents.
History of the Victoria Shopping Centre
Opened in 1992 at a cost of £50 million, the Victoria Shopping Centre was designed to bring a modern retail experience to Harrogate.
The centre was built on the former indoor market, which was home to butchers, fishmongers, florists, needlecraft shops, second-hand book and record shops and much more.
Funding for the project came from National Provident Institution and it was developed in partnership between Harrogate Borough Council and Speyhawk Retail plc.
The fountains that were part of the original Victoria Shopping Centre design were removed a few years later. Photo: Walker-Neesam Archive.
It was designed by architects Cullearn & Phillips and was inspired by Palladio’s Basilica in Vicenza.
Included in the proposals for the centre was a 800-space multi-storey car park on the other side of the train tracks with a bridge to connect shoppers.
Today, the Victoria Shopping Centre still features big high street names like WHSmith, TK Maxx and HMV. The town’s post office also moved there in 2019.
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