A new £500,000 office space dedicated to digital and technology firms in Harrogate is set to open next month.

Springfield House, which is directly above Harrogate Convention Centre on King’s Road, has been refurbished since Harrogate Borough Council staff left the premises in 2017.

The authority secured £540,000 of funding from the Leeds City Business Rates Pool to fund the project.

Known as Co-Lab, the offices feature 10 serviced offices with desk space for up to 10 people, high-speed broadband, a lounge and kitchen, meeting rooms and showers.

Tenants will also have access to information about issues such as funding and investment, supply chains and talent recruitment.

Read more:

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Alistair Forbes, Harrogate Borough Council’s in-house growth manager who will support businesses at Co-Lab, said: 

“Over the last few years, we’ve lost count of the number of people who have asked us ‘are there any co-working or incubator office spaces in Harrogate?’.

“This got us thinking; we needed to find a way to meet this demand and it needed to be dedicated to digital, creative and tech businesses who really need this type of space.

“Co-Lab will be focussed on digital and tech businesses, but we are inviting anyone interested in collaborating with the business community to talk to us. From designers, to hardware specialists, technologists, marketers and developers, our aim is that everyone works together to help our community become more successful.”

Businesses wishing to join Co-Lab will ideally need to be in the digital and creative industries business sector.

This includes fintech, augmented reality and virtual reality, digital health, film and animation production, music, digital content creation and management, immersive technology and content, publishing, cyber security, data, gaming, or product design.

For more details email hello@harrogateco-lab.co.uk or visit: www.harrogateco-lab.co.uk.

A covid-delayed project to refurbish a former Harrogate Borough Council office has taken a step forward after the approval of a £500,000 construction contract.

The council vacated Springfield House, at Harrogate Convention Centre, when it moved all of its operations to its new £13m civic centre at Knapping Mount in 2017.

The office has since been let out to businesses.

A planned refurbishment of the upper floors was due to start last year but hit delays as access was restricted during the convention centre’s use as an NHS Nightingale hospital.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, councillor Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development at the council, said he had been “thwarted and frustrated” by the setbacks.

He added that he welcomed the awarding of the £501,815 contract to York-based Lindum Group Limited after a competitive tender process.

The works will include new office spaces, a refurbished space for convention centre staff and a business incubator scheme which provides mentoring and support services for entrepreneurs starting out in business.

The ‘digital incubator hub’ will be funded through £540,000 through the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and is expected to make the council around £49,000 a year.

This is according to a report which also said the other office spaces would generate around £40,000 a year when fully let.

Speaking about the Springfield House plans, councillor Swift said:

“I have been thwarted and frustrated with this project which we would have liked to have implemented over 12 months ago but as the project was up-and-running when then found ourselves in a covid environment.

“This is an essential project for the district and the sort of project other people are investing in too. I know Crescent Gardens is gathering momentum and other developers in town are keen to take advantage of what is going to a fluid but important space in the market for small start-up businesses to grow.”

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It comes as plans to transform the council’s former Crescent Gardens headquarters into offices and a roof garden restaurant have been formally submitted.

Harrogate-based property company Impala Estates bought the site in January last year for £4m. Its plans also include creating a gym, as well as turning the former council chamber and mayor’s parlour into meeting rooms.