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12

Dec 2022

Last Updated: 12/12/2022
Business
Business

Viper Rooms: council issues statement after repossessing Harrogate nightclub

by John Plummer

| 12 Dec, 2022
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The building was repossessed in 2022.

North Yorkshire County Council has said it acted in the "best interests" of taxpayers after it repossessed Harrogate's Viper Rooms.

Bailiffs acting on behalf of the council entered the Parliament Street nightclub on Friday and changed the locks.

Notices pinned to the doors said any attempt to re-enter the premises would result in criminal or civil proceedings.

It prompted the club to announce on social media, hours before it was due to open, that it had closed with the loss of 30 jobs.

The venue, which was Harrogate's last remaining nightclub, is part of the Royal Baths commercial investment portfolio acquired by the council for £9 million in 2018.



Gary Fielding, corporate director for strategic resources at the council, said in a statement to the Stray Ferret:

“We are unable to discuss details about specific cases that North Yorkshire County Council is involved in.
“However, we will pursue our policies that protect the best interests of North Yorkshire’s taxpayers, and will therefore act accordingly.”






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The council has been under pressure to generate better returns on the Baths.

It was described as an "underperforming trophy asset" by one councillor last year because of its low rate of investment returns.

Last month the council warned it would take a tougher line on tenants following further poor investment returns.

Mr Fielding said the council "has done all it reasonably can to support its tenants" through covid, adding:

“We work with our tenants to understand their circumstances in order to maximise the income into the council.
"However, it is not the council’s responsibility to support tenants indefinitely, and if businesses are not sustainable then we work with tenants to bring tenancies to a close."