Private firm may be hired to run town’s historic Royal Hall as losses mount

A PRIVATE company could be brought in to run Harrogate’s internationally renowned Royal Hall to prevent taxpayers having to cover annual losses running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The historic venue is one of the spa town’s most prized assets, but it has been blighted by escalating running costs and a lack of events since it reopened in 2008.

Latest figures have revealed the Royal Hall had a net operating loss of £364,561 during the last financial year. Taxpayers are having to foot a daily bill of £1,000 to operate the Grade II listed venue, which staged just 57 events during 2010-11.

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Harrogate Council’s Cabinet will meet on Wednesday to discuss the Royal Hall’s operation. The preferred option is understood to be leasing it to an external operator, such as Harrogate Theatre, although the council would still retain a stake to ensure community events continue to be staged.

It is hoped a six-figure saving can be achieved, although the exact figure has yet to be finalised. A more detailed report is due to be compiled before the overhaul could be introduced by the end of the year.

Council leader Don Mackenzie said: “Like all branches of local government, we are clearly having to make efficiencies. We have been making these efficiencies for some time now, but the squeeze is still on. While we recognise that the Royal Hall is a most remarkable asset in Harrogate, we have a duty to taxpayers to make sure that it is run as efficiently as possible.”

Coun Mackenzie was adamant that the Royal Hall will not have to close, three years after it reopened following a £10.7m revamp.

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The venue along with the town’s Sun Pavilion are run by the Harrogate International Centre (HIC), which operates as an arms-length organisation to the council.

But taxpayers have to foot any financial losses for the Royal Hall, Sun Pavilion and HIC. The Royal Hall accounted for about a third of all net operating losses of £925,208.

Thirty-eight redundancies have been made at the HIC, but no further job losses are expected.

The venue opened in 1903 as the Kursaal and hosted performances from Elgar to the Beatles, but structural damage forced its closure in 2002.

It reopened in 2008 after a fundraising campaign to pay for the major renovations.