Stray Views: Thousands of visitors will miss Harrogate

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

This first letter relates to this week’s news that the Harrogate Convention Centre will no longer host the 15-day  International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival  after the organisers claimed costs had doubled.  The director of the HCC then responded saying the loss of the festival would a limited economic impact. 

Dear Editor,

We think it is fair to say that figures – and in particular, the costs of “in-kind” services can be interpreted in many different ways.     

Fallacy somewhere,  I fancy! (Ruddigore, W S Gilbert)

We are delighted that CEO Paula Lorimer feels that the town will not miss the Festival.

Still, we know that our thousands of visitors will certainly miss the beautiful Royal Hall, the outstanding hotels, and the fabulous restaurants and facilities.  And so will we!

It’s an unjust world, and virtue is triumphant only in theatrical performances (The Mikado, W S Gilbert)

However, it’s not all doom and gloom.  We are bringing a fantastic New Year Gala Concert to The Royal Hall on January 7, 2023, and we promise there’s no discount in sight!  The outstanding National Festival Orchestra and international opera stars will perform all those wonderful favourites.

It will be a great way to celebrate the New Year.

You can book your tickets at www.gsfestivals.org or by phone on 01422 323252.

We look forward to seeing everyone there.

 Life’s a pudding full of plums (The Gondoliers, W S Gilbert)

Bernard Lockett, The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.

Too much rubbish in the Harrogate district

The council in their wisdom have welcomed with open arms developers to bury the countryside in acre after acre of new homes.

Now surprise, surprise, these new residents are actually creating lots of rubbish and recycling.

The council now reveal they do not have enough bin operatives or vehicles to remove said rubbish etc. More stores etc are creating industrial amounts of waste. Once again, not enough staff to remove it. I am led to believe that not much of the recycling is actually dealt with as it should be.

I suspect when the new council takes over this situation is likely to deteriorate.

William B Thompson, Harrogate 

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Loss of 15-day festival will have ‘limited’ economic impact on Harrogate

The director of Harrogate Convention Centre has said the loss of the 15-day International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival will have a “limited additional economic impact” on hotels in the town.

Festival directors Janet and Neil Smith announced last week they will stage next year’s event at Buxton Opera House in Derbyshire from July 29 to August 12.

Harrogate’s Royal Hall had hosted the festival, which attracts thousands of visitors from around the world, since 2014. It provided a major boost to the town’s hospitality sector.

The directors claimed the cost of the Royal Hall had doubled and that no compromise had been forthcoming. By contrast, Buxton Opera House had “pulled out every stop to accommodate the festival,” they claimed.

The absence of Gilbert and Sullivan aficionados for 15 days will be keenly felt by numerous Harrogate hotels, bed and breakfasts, bars and restaurants. But Paula Lorimer, director of the convention centre, said the summer timing would reduce the impact.

Ms Lorimer also said the event had received “a discount of over 90% on venue hire”.

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In a statement, she said:

“Over the past eight years, Harrogate Convention Centre and the Royal Hall has been proud to have supported the Gilbert and Sullivan festival to the tune of over £200k of in-kind services and support.

“We have also supported the festival with a discount of over 90% on venue hire.

“We tried to explore with the organisers how their event could change to reduce the costs to the venue however the organisers wished to retain the same event with the same levels of support despite dwindling numbers attending.

“Our feedback from the hospitality sector indicated that the timing of the festival, in the middle of the summer holidays, was at time when hotels are generally at capacity resulting in limited additional economic impact from the festival.

“We regret to see them leave but respect their commercial decision and wish the festival all the best for their future.”