£20m funding bid for Harrogate Convention Centre refurbishment rejected

North Yorkshire Council’s hopes of winning £20m from the government to go towards a major refurbishment of Harrogate Convention Centre were dashed today.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced the winners of the third round of the Levelling Up Fund, with more than £1.1bn awarded to 55 schemes — but Harrogate was not on the list.

Unlike the first two rounds, councils were not invited to make formal bids for funding.

Instead, the government selected the best bids from round two that were not chosen last time.

The government scored each bid out of 100, with criteria including deliverability and the characteristics of each place.

The news will come as a blow but not necessarily a surprise to North Yorkshire Council.

Previously published feedback on the convention centre bid described it as “relatively strong” but said it lacked “evidence and rationale” into how the proposals would increase business.

The council has still not decided if it will proceed with a £49m refurbishment of the facility which it inherited from the defunct Harrogate Borough Council.

A contractor has been appointed to draw up more detailed plans for the redevelopment and a final decision was expected this year.

The convention centre opened in 1982 with conferences providing a boost to the town’s bars, restaurants and hotels, however, it has struggled to turned a profit.

It’s hoped the refurbishment would help the facility compete with other conference venues in the north but it remains unclear how North Yorkshire Council, which is looking to slash £70m from its budget over the next three years, will pay for it.

Nic Harne, the council’s corporate director for community development, said:

“We received £19m from the second round of levelling up funding for redeveloping Catterick Garrison’s town centre.

“We are disappointed that other projects have not been allocated funding under the department’s assessment process and will be seeking feedback on why those schemes were not prioritised.

“Our bids were submitted by the former councils and we could not put any further bids in.”

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Government says council’s £20m bid for Harrogate Convention Centre lacked ‘evidence and rationale’

Harrogate Borough Council’s bid for £20 million of government money to upgrade the town’s convention centre lacked evidence and rationale and may have over-stated the economic benefits.

Government feedback on the bid, released following a freedom of information request by the Stray Ferret, revealed several areas of concerns with the bid.

This is despite the fact the council, which was abolished at the end of March, paid consultants £45,000 as part of its submission to ministers.

More than 100 projects were awarded a share of £2.1 billion from round two of the Levelling Up Fund in January.

But the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, led by Michael Gove, rejected Harrogate’s application.

The decision was a significant blow to the council’s plans for a £49 million upgrade of the ageing centre and cast further doubt on the facility’s future.

The feedback described the bid as “relatively strong” and listed stakeholder engagement and deliverability as strengths. But the economic case was widely criticised.

The feedback said:

“There were some key areas that could have been enhanced, particularly in the economic case relating to the analysis of monetised costs and benefits, and the appropriateness of data sources and evidence.”

Harrogate Convention Centre, which is earmarked for a £47 million renovation.

The rejection was a blow to plans for a £49m upgrade to Harrogate Convention Centre.

It went on to say although the bid “evidenced the need to revitalise the visitor economy”, it “could have been strengthened by drawing on a broader range of socioeconomic indicators to demonstrate the multifaceted nature of the problems that the intervention had been designed to address”.

It added:.

“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.”

Benefits ‘may have been overstated’

The feedback also said the council’s economic case was not based on government guidance. Citing one example of this, it said:

“There was no justification for the 40-year appraisal period (typically it would be 30 years) and so benefits may have been overstated. More detail and discussion in relation to the counterfactual could be provided too – for example, the application mentions that they could borrow money and it also states that £115m of investment would be required in the ‘Do Nothing’ scenario, without any further explanation.

“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.”

In a section on deliverability, the council was praised for its “strong, coherent bid with a high level of detail and explanation throughout”.

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The feedback also recognised the bid’s “strong levels of engagement with most of the relevant stakeholders”.

North Yorkshire Council, which succeeded Harrogate Borough Council on April 1, provided the feedback following our freedom of information request.

Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council at the time of the bid, has said he will not comment on any council issues relating to his time in charge of the local authority.

Council leader ‘disappointed’ after Harrogate Convention Centre funding refusal

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said he is “disappointed” at a government decision to reject its bid for £20 million to go towards the redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced last night more than 100 projects had been awarded a share of £2.1 billion as part of round two of its flagship levelling up fund.

However, the council’s bid to help fund the £49 million renovation of the town’s convention centre was refused.

It’s the second time the government has rejected funding for the project after the council requested financial support through the North Yorkshire devolution deal last year.

Cllr Richard Cooper, Conservative leader of the council, said he was “slightly surprised” at the government’s decision to refuse its bid.

He said:

“While disappointed that we were not successful in our bid I look forward to exploring with the minister the detailed reasons why that is the case.

“The decision is slightly surprising since the government rejected the inclusion of funding for the Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment in the devolution agreement with North Yorkshire County Council.  This was done on the basis that we could bid to the levelling up fund, a bid which they have now also rejected.

“But if you bid for funding you have to be prepared for the possibility that you will not be successful. This was the second round of levelling up funding and there will be a third. We aim to be successful in that third round.”

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

Last week Richard Flinton, who will be chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, refused to commit to the £49 million redevelopment and said the conference and events venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.

Criticism of levelling up fund

Meanwhile, the government has faced criticism of its levelling up fund from officials at the Northern Powerhouse Partnership — a partnership group between civic leaders and businesses in the north of England.

Henri Murison, chief executive of the partnership, said those areas which had missed out on funding would ask “searching questions” about the process of holding funding rounds.

He told BBC News:

“People in the places that have received no money are going to be asking very searching questions about why these competitive funding rounds are being used when, for example, South Tyneside is now within a devolution area, Bradford has had a mayor for several years now. 

“Why on earth wasn’t the money for places like West Yorkshire just given straight to Tracy Brabin or in the case of Greater Manchester given straight to Andy Burnham?”

Mr Murison, who is from Boroughbridge, added that bidding for funding also cost local authorities money.

He said:

“The issue is that it costs, the Local Government Association estimate, about £30,000 to bid. The estimate that has been given in the last few days is that it’s getting on for £25 million that has been spent bidding in these processes.

“That’s OK, I suppose, for areas that were successful… For those areas that bid and didn’t get any money, there’s areal question whether Michael Gove should be writing them a cheque because their council tax payers are worse off for having tried to secure this funding but not got it.”

Harrogate council receives £85,000 to help residents at risk of eviction

Cash support is to be made available for Harrogate district residents at risk of losing their homes and being forced into homelessness.

Almost £85,000 has been awarded to the area from the government’s Homelessness Prevention Grant scheme which aims to protect people at risk of being on the streets due to rent arrears accumulated during the pandemic.

It marks the first time Harrogate has received cash from the £316 million scheme which is based on local need.

Cllr Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, said: 

“The Homelessness Prevention Grant can be a lifeline for some people as it helps reduce the risk of both single and family households from becoming homeless due to eviction.

“This extra funding to tackle homelessness is very welcome and will help residents get back on their feet.”

The funding announcement comes after 29 people in Harrogate were put up in emergency accommodation during 2020 as part of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative which the government had hoped would make big strides in its plan to end homelessness.

But there are now fresh fears that many households could face eviction due to the end of the furlough scheme, Universal Credit cuts and rising living costs during the coronavirus pandemic which has pushed workers across a variety of sectors into precarious circumstances.

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Housing and homelessness charity Shelter recently released figures that show more than 100,000 families across England have received eviction notices or fallen behind on their rent payments in recent months.

It has also estimated that just over 70% of families would struggle to find another home if they lost theirs this winter.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: 

“Eviction notices have started dropping on doormats and our services are working round the clock to help families who have nowhere else to go.

“Like it has before – the government needs to intervene to keep people safe in their homes. We urgently need more support for renters to protect them from eviction this winter.

“Thousands of families are teetering on a cliff edge. It’s only with the public’s support that we’ll be able to keep answering calls and help as many of them as possible keep the bailiffs at bay.”

What the funding is for

The latest allocations in the Homelessness Prevention Grant scheme were announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in December.

Councils will use the funding to help people find a new home, access support for unexpected evictions and secure temporary accommodation.

Announcing the latest funding, MP Eddie Hughes, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, said:

“I have seen first-hand the devastation of those who come face to face with homelessness, and my heart goes out to anyone in this situation.

“The support we are announcing today is going directly to communities that need it most.

“It will help thousands of people across England, with councils able to prevent homelessness before it occurs and put a roof over the heads of those who have lost their homes.”

Council warns of ‘enormous financial pressures’ despite government funding

North Yorkshire County Council officials have warned that it faces “enormous financial pressures” despite receiving £10 million in additional funding from government.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, announced that the authority will be granted £26 million in grants for the coming year.

Council officials said the funding was more than forecast due to an increase in funding from the government.

The fund includes core spending grants and funding for adult social care.

However, county council bosses have warned that the authority will still have to find £19 million in savings.

The funding includes:

Ministers said the settlement reflected the extra pressures on local councils, particularly in social care and the covid pandemic.

But Cllr Gareth Dadd, executive county councillor for finance, said the money would already be “accounted for” at this “turbulent time”.

He said:

“The additional money is very welcome. However, this continues to be a turbulent time. We remain in the midst of the pandemic and are responding to the increased pressures this puts on the county’s communities and economy, as well as our own resources.

“At the same time, long-term challenges continue to grow, as we deal with massive pressures in the social care markets and unprecedented levels of inflation and national insurance contributions. This means that as welcome as the extra money is, it is already more than accounted for.”

The move comes as the county council is consulting residents in North Yorkshire on its upcoming budget.

The authority will have the means to be able to hike council tax by up to 4.5% this year, under government rules.

Those in a band D property in North Yorkshire currently pay £1,411.05 in the county council’s share of council tax.

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Cllr Carl Les, leader of the council, said reform was needed on funding for rural authorities as residents “already pay too much council tax”.

He said:

“Putting up council tax is never an easy option for this authority. We have always striven to be moderate in our increases.

“In considering the level of council tax, we must understand and balance the hardship families are currently facing and the added pressure a council tax increase may bring with the need to fund essential services to support the most vulnerable in our communities through this critical period.

“We continue to feel that residents in North Yorkshire pay too much council tax, particularly in comparison to London, and urge the Government to press on with funding reform to create a fairer solution for rural counties.”

The county council is expected to outline its budget plan, including council tax, in the new year.