‘Save our conference centre’ - Harrogate’s Liberal Democrats and Conservatives make rare joint plea

It came during Harrogate Borough Council’s final full meeting last night (March 8) at the Civic Centre.

The council has previously warned that if the Harrogate 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.

A motion was proposed by Liberal Democrat councillor for Fairfax, Chris Aldred, which was seconded by Conservative councillor for Valley Gardens Sam Gibbs, to ask the new authority to confirm its support for a major refurbishment of the ageing facility, which it will take control of from April 1.

The motion also asked that the new council “moves forward with urgency” in setting up a management board for the Harrogate Convention Centre.

The project has moved to the design phase but where the money will come from to pay for it remains uncertain.

North Yorkshire Council will make a final decision at a later date.

During the debate, councillors from both sides of the political divide lined up to give reasons why it should go ahead with many citing how the Harrogate Convention Centre boosts the trade of Harrogate’s bars and restaurants.

Councillor Aldred said if the conference centre were ever to close then Harrogate would be “a very different town”.

He said: “We across this chamber must not allow this to happen.

"We need to send a message to North Yorkshire — Harrogate wants to continue to welcome the world — and the best way to do that is to ensure the Harrogate Convention Centre gets the resources it desperately needs to be the economic beating heart of the district.”

Conservative councillor for Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, Michael Harrison, who will sit on the decision-making executive of North Yorkshire Council compared the redevelopment to the £68m re-routing of Kex Gill but said the benefits are not as visible.

He said: “The damage if investment was not made isn’t as immediately obvious as a road collapsing into a valley – the spending is just as vital.

“I’m confident that members of new authority get it.

"They understand the benefits and the damage if the Harrogate Convention Centre wasn’t supported adequately.

"We do understand the benefits to the town, district and county that the Harrogate Convention Centre brings.”

Both council leader Richard Cooper and opposition leader Pat Marsh also addressed councillors about why they were backing the redevelopment.

Ann Myatt, the Conservative councillor for Ouseburn, was the sole dissenting voice from either the Tories’ or the Lib Dems’ benches.

Councillor Myatt said she “has never been convinced” that the taxyaper should foot the bill for the redevelopment and that a focus on supporting the hospitality trade could hold Harrogate back.

She said: “I worry by asking North Yorkshire Council to support the refurb then we’ll still have a town that’s dependent on hospitality.

“It’s also a dampener on new industries and sectors to come.

"I’d like to see Harrogate be a silicon town or an IT hub.

"We have highly skilled people living in Harrogate but they all go somewhere else to work and people living outside come to Harrogate.

"That brings difficulties and I don’t think we’ve really thought this through.

"Is there anyone in the private sector who could take this on?

"If there were that would give me confidence this is a viable long-term business.”

Many people in Ripon have been against the conference centre ever since it was first proposed in 1976, believing the facility offers few benefits for the cathedral city.

Ripon Independent councillor for Ripon Minster, Pauline McHardy told the meeting that the Harrogate Convention Centre was a “bottomless pit” and the redevelopment should not go ahead.

She said: “The conference centre will be a noose around the neck forever and people will be fed up of propping it up while other parts of the district are going short-changed.”

The motion passed by 29 to 3.

Harrogate Borough Council has a final extraordinary meeting of the council scheduled for March 22 before it is abolished after 49 years of existence on March 31.