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27
May 2023
Viper Rooms owner says Harrogate landlords need to 'get real' with rent
The man who owned Harrogate's last nightclub has spoken of his frustration at trying to operate in the town.
It is now six months since Viper Rooms was re-possessed by landlord North Yorkshire County Council.
It has remained empty since, despite repeated claims by the council of "significant interest from potential tenants".
Viper Rooms owner Paul Kinsey said he had been in protracted negotiations over a new lease with the council before it re-possessed the building.
Mr Kinsey added he still owned the fixtures and fittings and had continued to negotiate with the council about re-occupying the site.
But a deal has not materialised and his frustration has prompted him to speak out.
The Viper Rooms unit was part of the grade two listed Royal Baths, which the council bought for £9 million in 2018. The baths also includes the former Potting Shed unit, which has been vacant for five years.
Still vacant: the former Potting Shed and Viper Rooms — both part of the Royal Baths.
Their ongoing closure led Mr Kinsey to claim councillors "haven't got the commercial experience or knowledge" to run large commercial assets and they were making unrealistic demands on tenants.
He said he spent £370,000 refurbishing the club pre-covid and the council was now requesting £150,000 a year on rent and service charge even though the landscape had changed post-pandemic. He said:
Read more:
- Harrogate nightclub Viper Rooms closes suddenly
- New tenants soon for Harrogate's Viper Rooms and nearby bar?
'Crippling overheads' on Parliament Street
Mr Kinsey, who lives near Wetherby, said he still wanted to have a venue in Harrogate and had his eye on one site.
But he questioned the appeal of the town to leisure operators, adding the main reason he was so keen to return to the Royal Baths was because he owned the fixtures and fittings and had spent so much on refurbishing it pre-covid.
He said many commercial landlords over-estimated the value of Harrogate and pointed to the number of failed ventures on Parliament Street as evidence of "crippling overheads".
The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council, which succeeded North Yorkshire County Council on April 1, if it had a response to Mr Kinsey's claims but it did not issue one.
The Viper Rooms site is being advertised
Asked for an update on the Viper Rooms, which is now being advertised by agents Savills, and the Potting Shed, it said it had nothing to add to its last statement two months ago, when Gary Fielding, the council’s corporate director for strategic resources, said:
The council's £9 million spending on the Royal Baths also included the JD Wetherspoon pub and the Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant.
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