The search to find tenants for Harrogate‘s former Tourist Information Centre has begun.

‘To Let’ signs were put up on Friday outside the building on Crescent Road, which is part of the Victorian Royal Baths complex.

The rental asking price is £40,000 a year, according to the website of Align Chartered Surveyors, which is marketing the 2,394 square foot property on behalf of North Yorkshire Council.

The website also says the property has a rateable value of £23,500 and a £24,300 service charge, which includes maintenance, waste collection and cleaning costs.

It says:

“The site is one of the most famous attractions of the affluent town, a town whereby domestic visitors alone provide over £640m of investment each year.

“The building is grade two listed comprising Yorkshire stone masonry elevations under multi-pitch and gabled roof. The windows are double glazed with timber framing.”

The Stray Ferret reported in February the council had decided to relocate the Tourist Information Centre in the nearby Royal Pump Room Museum.

Harrogate’s new tourist information service consists of leaflets.

It said in a report the move would enable it to save costs and generate income from the Royal Baths, which has been dogged by low investment returns since the council paid £9.5 million for it in 2018.

The report said the number of visitors to the Tourist Information Centre fell from 135,000 pre-covid in 2019 to 68,000 last year, mainly due to people seeking information online.

It added it was “important to maintain access to the service to support tourism within the area and to provide services for those who are unable or prefer not to use digital services”.

The report said relocation would “improve the tourist information service” and have “minimal” impact on customers.

However, the service has been downgraded to just a desk with leaflets of mainly council services within the Royal Pump Room Museum, which has prompted concern among local businesses.

It means three of the five commercial unites within the Royal Baths are vacant.

Two are occupied by the JD Wetherspoon pub and the Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant but the former Viper Rooms nightclub and Potting Shed bar remain empty, even though the council said in February it had accepted an offer on the Viper Rooms.

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A Harrogate business owner has raised concerns about the lack of business exposure at the new Tourist Information Centre.

North Yorkshire Council announced in February it would permanently close the former Tourist Information Centre on Crescent Road and re-open in the nearby Royal Pump Room Museum.

The move will enable the council to reduce costs and generate rent from its former premises in the Royal Baths, which has suffered low commercial investment returns since the council paid £9.5 million for it back in 2018.

But the new tourist information section within the pump room is much smaller than the old building, which has raised concerns about its ability to provide the same service and to promote local businesses.

Neil Thomson, owner of jewellery and art shop Inger & Rae and jewellery and gift shop Shine in Westminster Arcade, raised concerns with the Stray Ferret after tourists told him they “struggled to find” the arcade.

Mr Thomson told the Stray Ferret:

“Visitors in the arcade all say how beautiful it is but that they knew nothing about it. There aren’t any signposts despite its architectural significance.

“The arcade also hosts 10 independent businesses, all of which are thriving despite the lack of interest from the council.

“There is a huge unwillingness to even mention places which aren’t council run.”

Inside Westminster Arcade.

Mr Thomson said he approached staff at the Pump Rooms, as well as a local art gallery, requesting to put leaflets about Westminster Arcade on display.

He said both sites told him they “could not give information leaflets to the public”.

He added:

“We wish to promote Westminster Arcade as an important visitor attraction. It is a superb example of Victorian architecture, and the only Victorian arcade in Harrogate.

“Visitors to Harrogate want to be able to access a full range of information when they are here in person, in the town.

“If we all work together, and promote ALL the positive and varied attractions Harrogate has to offer, visitors will have a much better experience and will be far more likely to return.”

Mr Thomson, who also has a shop on King’s Road, said he was also told the new Tourist Information Centre would be manned “only by digital tablets” and there would “not be any staff”.

This only added to his concerns, he said.

The Stray Ferret put Mr Thomson’s concerns to the council and asked if the new site would really be manned digitally.

The council’s corporate director of community development, Nic Harne, today said:

“The staff at the venue are trained to deal with both museum and visitor information queries. Facilities available incorporate leaflet displays, maps and retail with digital touchscreens to follow within the coming weeks, for those who wish to use them.’’

The tourist information section of the pump room.

Mr Harne also said merging the museum and Tourist Information Centre was a “more up-to-date model of visitor service provision”, adding it enabled the council to operate the two services during the same hours.

The council said the new Tourist Information Centre at the Pump Rooms is now open, and the digital screens will be installed in the next few weeks.

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The trade union Unison has expressed concerns that some Harrogate Borough Council may have to use public toilets during office hours.

Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre is currently located in the town’s library.

But it is due to move to the Courthouse Museum, in the grounds Knaresborough Castle, in June.

Unison is concerned the museum does not have adequate on-site toilet facilities, forcing staff to use public toilets on Cheapside.

David Houlgate, Unison Harrogate branch secretary, said:

“We understand that for very many years staff at the courthouse museum have been expected to use the public toilets near to Cheapside.  Of course this was never really acceptable but now with the Tourist Information Centre re-locating there will be more staff, probably longer opening hours and increased footfall.

“Whilst public toilets are OK if people are caught short when out and about in the town they are not suitable to be the designated toilets for staff working in an indoor environment promoting the town and wider district.

“There is also no guarantee that they will be open when needed.”

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Mr Houlgate said if the council could not provide toilets, it should make an arrangement with a nearby organisation to allow council staff to use their toilets.

He added these concerns were put to the council when the move was first discussed in 2019 but they hadn’t been addressed. He also questioned what consultation had taken place.

The move to the museum was delayed due to the pandemic but is now scheduled to take place in June.

Disabled access also a concern

Unison also raised concerns about the tourist information centre’s disabled access. Mr Houlgate said:

“Whilst there is some provision to get in and out of the Courthouse, the nature of the building may restrict access within which is not ideal and may even be discriminatory.”

The union has asked the council if there has been an equality impact assessment in relation to the move.

Harrogate Borough Council has been contacted for a response.