Controversial council relocation to former police site to be axed

Harrogate Borough Council is now facing a major challenge to find alternative premises for the long-awaited centralisation of its services as it bids to streamline operations and alleviate pressure on its beleaguered finances.

The £12.4m plans to sell the historic Crescent Gardens, which would be transformed into a boutique hotel, along with four other council buildings to move on to a newly built site at the old police station on North Park Road have sparked widespread opposition since being agreed in February.

But council leader Anthony Alton has now admitted the plans are expected to be abandoned after it emerged last month that a bid put forward by English Heritage for the former North Yorkshire Police premises to be Grade II listed had been approved by the Government.

Coun Alton told the Yorkshire Post that a recommendation had been drawn up by the council’s accommodation board not to proceed with the move to North Park Road, which became available after the police force moved to a new base at Beckwith Knowle, on the outskirts of Harrogate.

He maintained there was still a desire to find a single location for the council to move in to, but admitted other options may now have to be looked at with the council’s operations continuing to be split between several sites.

Coun Alton said: “In an ideal world we would still have a single site as this would allow greater efficiencies to be made. Local government is not easy at the moment, and we do need to find ways to save money.

“We have not found the perfect solution, but the council remains 100 per cent committed to providing the best location and the best value for money for the district’s taxpayers.”

Concerns have been expressed by opposition councillors about the escalating costs of the proposed move while the authority is battling to save money amid the Government’s austerity drive.

Coun Alton confirmed that while a six-figure sum had been spent on the overall relocation project, the cost of the proposed move to the North Park Road site did not run to more than five figures. However, the exact costings have yet to be finalised, according to Coun Alton.

The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Coun Pat Marsh, called on the council to reconsider extending the existing Crescent Gardens offices to accommodate more services there.

The Liberal Democrats had been among the fiercest critics of the proposed move to North Park Road amid claims the site was not large enough, and the influential Harrogate Civic Society has also raised concerns.

Coun Marsh said the Crescent Gardens site fell within a key civic area of the town near the Royal Baths, the Royal Hall and the Mercer Art Gallery, and should therefore remain in the council’s hands.

She added: “There is a feeling that this has all been rushed through and it has been done with too much haste. We have always said that the move to North Park Road was impractical, and it has been recommended that the move should not go ahead.

“The council needs to go away and fully consider its options, and I would like to think that we can revisit the Crescent Gardens site, which could have another tier added to it with a reorganisation of the internal space.”

Coun Alton claimed it was too early to outline a short list of other potential sites, although more details are expected to emerge next month.

Councillors are due to be briefed on November 12 with an update on the relocation plans, before the cabinet meets in early December to discuss withdrawing the proposals for the move to North Park Road. A full council meeting will be held on December 5 to discuss the cabinet’s recommendations.