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Consultants were paid £45,000 of taxpayers’ money on a failed bid to secure £20 million to upgrade Harrogate Convention Centre.

The government rejected Harrogate Borough Council‘s application for funding, which would have gone towards a planned £49 million redevelopment of the convention centre, in January.

The failure of the bid, which was made to round two of the Levelling Up Fund, means the future of the ageing venue remains unclear.

It subsequently emerged Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished at the end of March, paid consultants £45,000 as part of its submission to the government.

Cllr Derek Bastiman, the Conservative executive member for open to business at North Yorkshire Council, which succeeded Harrogate Borough Council, told the Stray Ferret the Levelling Up Fund presented “a significant opportunity for government investment in the area” and “a detailed bid was made to secure money for the Harrogate Convention Centre”.

Its failure has led to questions about what went wrong and whether future funding bids could improve.

Why did the Harrogate bid fail?

The convention centre bid was one of five made in North Yorkshire for a total of £122 million from round two of the Levelling Up Fund.

The only one to succeed was a £19 million application for a scheme in the Richmond area at Catterick — in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency.

In response to questions from Cllr Mike Schofield, an independent who represents Harlow and St George’s on North Yorkshire Council, Cllr Bastiman said government feedback “centred around the value for money aspects of the bids and sections where more detail would have been beneficial”.

He added:

“We have also taken lessons learned from a review of other successful bids.”

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Cllr Bastiman revealed £796,000 was spent on consultants for the five applications, including the convention centre.

The government is expected to publish details of round three of the Levelling Up Fund this month, which could see another bid for convention centre funding.

Cllr Bastiman told Cllr Schofield:

“There is uncertainty as to how the next round of funding will operate including confirmation as to whether those areas previously successful and in receipt of levelling up funds will be eligible to bid.

“If eligible, we will need to review the detailed guidance before considering which projects for the North Yorkshire area would be prioritised to increase the likelihood of success.”