The redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre has moved to the next design stage – although a final decision on the £49 million plans is still a year away.

It will be in July or August next year when that decision is made and because of local government reorganisation, it will be taken by the new North Yorkshire Council.

The convention centre is currently owned by Harrogate Borough Council which will hand over ownership of the venue after warning it “may fail to survive” without investment.

It said the convention centre – which is a key driver of business to the district’s hospitality and tourism trades – could lose up to £250 million over the next 40 years unless the redevelopment is carried out.

That warning was put to members of the borough council’s cabinet on Wednesday when they approved spending £3.3 million to progress final designs.

Trevor Watson, director of economy, environment and housing at the borough council, told a meeting that the redevelopment would enhance the appearance of the 40-year-old building and improve access to its auditorium.

He said:

“But absolutely critically, it would replace the ageing and failing mechanical and electrical facilities which we will have to do regardless of whether this scheme goes ahead.”

“The reality is we can’t do nothing as we would still require many millions of pounds of investment just to keep the venue ticking over”.

Read more:

• Fears for Harrogate Convention Centre if new Leeds venue goes ahead
• Harrogate Convention Centre ‘could lose £250 million without investment’

The convention centre competes with venues in Manchester, Birmingham, London and other major cities for events. And now there is a new threat much closer to home after plans for a Leeds conference venue were revealed.

Those proposals for the site of the former Yorkshire Bank HQ were set for approval by Leeds City Council last week until a wave of objections from Harrogate Convention Centre and the town’s business leaders delayed the decision.

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, criticised the city council for an “absence of dialogue” on the plans which she fears will have a big impact on Harrogate’s place in the “very competitive” events industry.

She also told Wednesday’s meeting:

“The convention centre’s role is to protect and create jobs for Harrogate, and to ensure it does not become a seasonal town and shut in the winter.

“Although the venue has retained many loyal clients over the years, increasing competition and growing operating costs have resulted in us having a major rethink of what our offer actually is.

“We need to innovate to recapture our position in the market and I very much believe this is achievable.”

The next stages of the proposed development will see designs produced by next May, before final costs are revealed the following month.

If approved, construction works would start later in the year with completion in November 2024.

The final build cost for Harrogate’s new civic centre has been revealed as £11,516,200.

It is almost £3m more than the budget announced by Harrogate Borough Council at the outset of the project in 2015.

The figure was revealed to The Stray Ferret after a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Previously, the council had refused to announce the cost on the grounds of “commercial sensitivity”. Contractor Harry Fairclough (Construction) Limited entered administration in February this year.

The council said: “Final account negotiations were ongoing between the Council and Harry Fairclough prior to Harry Fairclough entering into administration.”

In 2015, when the council first began work at the Knapping Mount site, the expected build cost was £8.7m.

Harrogate Borough Council said its intention was to unite all staff on one site, saving £1m per year through efficiencies as a result. It argued its existing offices across five sites were not fit for purpose.

Having first put its historic Crescent Gardens building on the market in July 2015, HBC finally announced it had completed a sale to Impala Estates in January this year for £4m. The company said it intends to refurbish the building as offices.