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Poor rail links prompt event pull-out
A major conference organiser has pulled out of Yorkshire because of the region's second-class transport infrastructure.
In a damaging blow to Harrogate's standing as Britain's leading conference town, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development will from next year move its annual get-together to Manchester.
With between 5,000 and 6,000 international delegates attending each four-day conference, CIPD's decision will be a major blow to the region's economy. It has held its conference in Harrogate for almost 60 years and is the second-biggest money-spinner in the town's calendar.
Yesterday a CIPD spokesman said that while the facilities in Harrogate could not be faulted poor transport links and a lack of hotel rooms forced a change in location.
Robert Blevin said: "We've been in Harrogate for 60 years and had nothing but good experiences. But delegates have told us that they have been put off by the lack of accommodation and the transport links and these are two of the factors that have influenced our decision. Our event has grown and Harrogate isn't big enough any longer to support all the people who want to attend. Manchester has very strong transport links and that influenced our decision."
Business leaders and the town's MP laid the blame squarely on Ministers' failure to invest in the region's transport infrastructure.
Lib Dem Harrogate MP Phil Willis said: "This decision is enormously disappointing. One of the things that I've been desperately trying to get fixed is the poor rail links, particularly between York and Harrogate and Leeds and Harrogate. This is a massive blow, especially as there are some significant transport developments on the horizon." As the Yorkshire Post reported earlier this month, two train companies are competing to run direct services from London King's Cross to Harrogate, starting in December 2009.
But National Express East Coast and Hull Trains are also competing against a third train firm, Grand Union, which wants to take control of the same available rolling stock to run new services from the capital to Bradford, Huddersfield and Halifax. Only one firm is likely to be successful, with a decision not expected until later this summer.
Mr Willis added: "I will support any company that's proposing to invest in a service that runs directly from Harrogate to London. We have a conference business that underpins 7,000 jobs, the largest single employer in Harrogate, and we desperately need that rail link.
"To simply say we're not prepared to invest in the rail line to Harrogate, which has been the position up to now, is simply unacceptable. Businesses have options for almost everything, bar the transport system, and businesses in Harrogate are being let down badly by that."
Simon Cotton, director of the Destination Harrogate federation of hotels, said: "It will certainly have an economic impact on the town and I'm very sorry to see CIPD go but, although we may not be able to replace them like-for-like, we won't struggle to replace them." Brian Dunsby, chief executive of the Harrogate Chamber of Commerce, said: "The primary problem that Harrogate has is that it is at a major disadvantage to Manchester in terms of accessibility.
"While the facilities here are excellent the transport infrastructure is not – though this is a problem that all of Yorkshire suffers from, not just Harrogate."
Mr Dunsby said the conference centre was unable to attract events of international significance because of the difficulties coming in by air. The Yorkshire Post's Road to Ruin campaign calls for more investment in the region's transport infrastructure.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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