Warning that Harrogate would ‘wither on the vine’ without convention centre

Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy and culture, Trevor Watson, and director of the Harrogate Convention Centre, Paula Lorimer, updated councillors last night about £49m plans to redevelop the council-run building so it can better compete with rival convention centres in the north.

Mr Watson said the council has now appointed a contractor to draw up more detailed plans for the redevelopment.

But whether the vision is ever realised is far from certain.

North Yorkshire Council will make a final decision on whether the project goes ahead in the summer.

Ms Lorimer said she will meet senior figures from North Yorkshire County Council on Friday to discuss the building’s future.

Talks will focus on how the new council can attract investment for the redevelopment, which she said it “desperately needs”.

Last month, the council failed in its £20m Levelling Up Fund bid for the Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment but Ms Lorimer suggested the council would bid again for funding in its third round.

She also said other ideas for attracting investment could involve bringing in an outside “interested party” to the table.

Ms Lorimer said: “Believe you me, I’m not giving up on getting grant funding for this convention centre.

“There are opportunities to circle the wagons and look for other investment opportunities as well as Levelling Up funding.

"I do feel we should continue to have a go at that as well as various other decarbonisation pots.

“This is what we’ll be talking about on Friday, where are we going to get the funding, how are we going to get investment?

“It could be an interested party to invest, it could be hotels, it could be a number of things.”

The council has previously warned that if the Convention Centre redevelopment doesn’t go ahead, the district could lose out on up to £250 million over the next 40 years in lost tourism and business spending.

Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for Fairfax, said the Harrogate Convention Centre “absolutely underpins the local economy”.

He added: “[Without the Harrogate Convention Centre] Harrogate would be a totally different town.

"We wouldn’t have a range of restaurants, we wouldn’t have the splendid shops we have, we wouldn’t have communications and travel systems if the Harrogate Convention Centre wasn’t there.”

In response, Ms Lorimer said: “It’s true – we drive a lot of business and leisure visitors.

"But it’s not just the business tourism market that would stop, it’s leisure as well.

"Harrogate would wither on the vine without the convention centre.”