Letter: Council offices - Please rethink the plans

In response to the various letters advocating that HBC should take a positive creative approach to the much loved civic heritage at the council office, might our Harrogate Heritage Champion Coun Rebecca Burnett have a rethink about just selling the building and leaving it to hoteliers (although that seems to have failed) or residential developers to save the building.

Across from the council office, Grosvenor buildings has been dynamically regenerated with apartments and in the roof there are recessed patio areas. This idea has great potential for two floors to be added to the council office above the two side wings.

The central ‘civic area’ might then be retained as a ‘Harrogate Civic Hall’ housing the present public reception and a ‘Civic Lounge’ on the first floor for HBC and the community to use.

‘Civic memorabilia’ can be displayed on the ‘Grand Civic Staircase’ and the ‘Civic Balcony’ retained for civic events in Crescent Gardens that might be renamed the Queen Elizabeth Gardens to commerate the Queen’s 90th.

This is a chance for HBC to show it does or does not care for 200 years of civic spa heritage and for our heritage champion to show that she not only listens but also acts on ideas from the community.

David Rhodes

Ripley