Conference centre’s staff to be cut by half

Following a closed doors council meeting last night, Harrogate Council confirmed it will be axing 15 vacant posts from the HIC, accepting nine voluntary redundancies and making 28 compulsory redundancies.

It was originally estimated that 30 to 35 members of the HIC’s 100-strong workforce could be made redundant, after it recorded a loss of more than £1m last year.

Union bosses, who have warned cutting so many staff at the centre – which is credited with generating £100m for the wider regional economy in the last year – could damage prospects for recovering from the economic crisis, described the announcement as “devastating”.

David Houlgate, Unison branch secretary, said: “We are talking about 52 positions going which is far more than we expected. This is devastating for the people that work there.

“We still don’t think that they should have had any compulsory redundancies.

“By cutting more than 50 per cent of its staff, one of our big concerns is whether staff are going to be able to provide the service that they have done in the past.”

The HIC, which is owned and operated at arm’s length by the council, is worth around £180m a year to the Harrogate economy and attracts 260,000 visitors annually to conference, exhibition and entertainment events.

Harrogate Council has announced it is slashing spending by £1.7m this year and a further £1.1m in 2012. The HIC cuts are planned to claw back around £200,000.

A council spokeswoman said: “Any staff change is regrettable, however team members have been supported via redeployment opportunities and wider career advisory services.”