Harrogate Convention Centre revamp fails again to win funding

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

Plans to refurbish Harrogate Convention Centre have hit a new setback after the project once again failed to win government funding.

The centre has missed out on a third round of funding by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

An earlier bid for £20m from the Levelling Up Fund to kickstart the £49m scheme had already been rejected.

North Yorkshire Council is still to decide if it will proceed with the scheme to revamp the venue.

The earlier bid for funding to revamp the convention centre had lacked "evidence and rationale" as to how it would increase the centre's business, a report found in August.

Unlike the first two rounds of funding, councils were not invited to make formal bids in the third round, whose winners were announced on Monday.

Instead, the government selected the best bids from those not chosen last time.

The centre was transformed into a Nightingale Hospital during the pandemic, though it did not treat a single Covid patient

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 time its annual revenue has decreased by an average of 3% per year.

A previous report said it could lose £250m over the next 40 years unless it was revamped.

The former Harrogate Borough Council, which has now been replaced by North Yorkshire Council, spent £45,000 on producing the initial funding bid.

A contractor has been appointed to draw up detailed plans for the project, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority has been contacted for a comment.