Harrogate council spent £45k on failed levelling up bid

The council hoped to get cash to support a £49m redevelopment of the centre

A council has defended spending £45,000 on a failed bid to revamp its convention centre.

Harrogate Borough Council applied to the government's levelling up fund for £20m towards a £49m redevelopment of the site but was turned down.

It said the financial outlay had been "the best possible chance" of the proposal being successful.

The authority made the bid despite Harrogate being one of the lowest priority areas for levelling up funds.

The government project invites areas to bid for investment in transport, cultural and town centre and regeneration projects to help close the gap between richer and poorer parts of the country.

Following a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council confirmed it had spent the money on "significant legal, design and financial input and guidance".

"This was required to ensure the best possible chance of the Harrogate Convention Centre's £20m submission being considered," a spokesperson said.

They said they had not received feedback on why the bid had failed last month but now had everything they needed to submit future proposals.

Financial 'millstone'

It has been estimated that the council-owned centre, which opened in 1982, attracts more than 150,000 visitors a year with an economic impact of more than £35m.

But the venue's financial performance has been poor over the past decade during which its annual revenue has decreased by an average of 3% per year.

It has warned without investment it would "fail to survive" and its director Paula Lorimar said Harrogate would "wither on the vine" if the facility ever closed.

Ownership of the centre will pass to North Yorkshire Council on 1 April, when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished.

Andrew Williams, independent councillor for Ripon Minster & Moorside on North Yorkshire County Council, said the rejection of the bid showed the "government doesn't think the redevelopment is worthwhile".

"The conference centre is going to be a millstone around anybody's neck. I don't support spending £50m on a business that's still losing money."