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16
Sept 2021
Harrogate council awards £275,000 contract to KPMG
A £275,000 contract to come up with a business case for the refurbishment of Harrogate Convention Centre has been handed to consultants KPMG.
Harrogate Borough Council awarded the contract to the London consultants ahead of making a final decision on whether to spend £47 million redeveloping the convention centre.
As part of the deal, KPMG will also assess the economic impact of covid on the events industry.
Trevor Watson, the council’s director of economy, environment and housing, approved the contract following a competitive tender process in which the council only received a single bid for the work.
A council spokesperson said previously the award of the contract would mark "a significant step forward in our major investment". They added:
It comes as a major shake-up of local government in North Yorkshire looms, which will see the Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council scrapped and replaced with a new super council.
Read more:
Business planning contract awarded for £47m Harrogate Convention Centre upgrade
Leaked report reveals dire financial state of Harrogate Convention Centre
- No final decision on HCC investment until 2022, says council
Control of the convention centre will be handed over to the new super council, which the government aims to have in place by 2023.
However, Harrogate Borough Council officials have said they remain “committed” to completing projects and that the convention centre redevelopment and plans to scrap the two-tier council system were “two entirely separate things”.
£288,000 contract for Brimham’s Active
Meanwhile, a separate contract to overhaul the booking management system in Harrogate district leisure centres has been awarded to an Oxfordshire company.
The £288,000 contract has been handed to Gladstone MRM Ltd, which has offices in Wallingford.
The council has commissioned Gladstone to upgrade its current booking system, which it said is 20 years out of date.
According to the government’s procurement portal, the contract will run until July 2025.
Brimham’s Active, which was set up by the council in August, now runs leisure facilities such as Harrogate Hydro, Starbeck Baths, Knaresborough Pool and Ripon Leisure Centre.
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