A £20m Levelling Up bid for the redevelopment of Harrogate’s convention centre failed because it lacked “evidence and rationale” into how the proposals would increase business.
Harrogate Convention Centre’s £20m Levelling Up bid 'lacked evidence' A £20m Levelling Up bid for the redevelopment of Harrogate’s convention centre failed because it lacked “evidence and rationale” into how the proposals would increase business. North Yorkshire Council has now provided the feedback report that says why it was rejected, after the government previously declined to do so. The now-abolished Harrogate Borough Council missed out on the funding earlier this year and it led to questions over how the planned £49m refurbishment of the ageing facility will be paid for. During the first two rounds of the fund, 834 bids were submitted by councils but only 216 were successful. The government scored each bid out of 100 with criteria including deliverability and the characteristics of each place. The feedback describes HBC’s bid as “relatively strong” and cited stakeholder engagement and the project’s deliverability as positives. In the bid, the council argued that upgrading HCC’s facilities will boost event numbers and increase the amount of money they can generate. But the government said the evidence behind these assumptions was not sufficient. It said:
“The bid set out why the intervention was expected to address the identified problems but there was a lack of supporting evidence and rationale. "The bid could have been strengthened by incorporating more evidence to support the assumptions linking outputs to outcomes and impacts, e.g., it would have been good to understand whether there was unmet demand for this type of space, and how the increased capacity of the centre would address the problems identified.”Harrogate Borough Council paid consultants £49,000 to draw up the bid but the feedback said the benefits laid out in its report “could have been overstated”. It also said it wanted more details on how the project would improve wellbeing. It added:
“There were only environmental benefits monetised; with no attempt to monetise other categories of benefits that would be typical for this type of proposal, e.g., wider Land Value Uplift, potential wellbeing benefits from arts/culture, etc.”The government is expected to soon welcome bids for a third round of its Levelling Up Fund worth over £1bn and the council has indicated it may try to bid again. The new owner of the building, North Yorkshire Council, will make a decision on whether the redevelopment project goes ahead later this year. By Thomas Barrett, Local Democracy Reporter Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.
'Inspirational' schoolgirl donates hair to help children in need
Harrogate dog lovers invited to volunteer as puppy trainers
Police appeal after Harrogate man assaulted at home
Morrisons opens 'Asian Corner' at Harrogate store
New ward-based library introduced at Harrogate Hospital
Harrogate care home donates £1,000 to charity battling loneliness
Builders unearth medieval well in Ripon city centre
Knaresborough teacher to run London Marathon in aid of Henshaws
Drugs seized and two arrested in Knaresborough
Spiegeltent returns to Harrogate for summer extravaganza
Starbeck festival set to return for third year
Police appeal to locate Harrogate fuel thief
Harrogate MP set to take on London Marathon in aid of colitis charity
Expansion could add £17m to northern economy, says Harrogate Spring Water
New café to open in place of Hoxton North this week
Ripon vintage tractor run to return this weekend
Ladies lunch event raises £25,000 for Yorkshire children's hospice
Yorkshire Baby & Toddler Show Returns
Lightwater Valley officially opens 'epic' new rollercoaster
Three Harrogate boxers scoop medals at international tournament
