North Yorkshire Council has proposed moving Harrogate’s tourist information centre from the Royal Baths to inside the nearby Royal Pump Room Museum.
Council proposes moving Harrogate's tourist information centre North Yorkshire Council has proposed moving Harrogate’s tourist information centre from the Royal Baths to inside the nearby Royal Pump Room Museum. The move follows a sharp decline in tourists using the centre on Crescent Road since the covid pandemic with numbers falling from 135,000 in 2019 to 68,000 last year. A report that has been prepared for Conservative executive member for business Cllr Derek Bastiman says the drop-off is in line with national trends in the way tourists access information, with more people using digital content on their phones when they visit Harrogate. It’s proposed the new tourist information service at the museum will be open from 9.30am to 5pm from Tuesday to Sunday starting from April. Staff from the current location would be retained and are said to be supportive of the proposal. The report adds the move will enable longer and more reliable opening hours. North Yorkshire Council owns both sites but spends £24,300 a year on upkeep at the Royal Baths location, according to the report. It adds the council could choose to rent it out to a private business and raise between £30,000 and £40,000 a year in income. However, it has struggled to attract tenants to other units at the Royal Baths with the former Potting Shed bar remaining empty for years and the former Viper Rooms nightclub also still unoccupied more than a year after it closed. The report says:
“The relocation of the Harrogate TIC to the Royal Pump Room would result in no loss of service for customers, would enable services to be delivered in a more efficient way, and would result in a saving to the council from energy and service charge costs. "There would also be opportunity to lease the unit externally, generating additional income for NYC. “It would provide a more efficient model for the delivery of TIC services in Harrogate, taking into account reducing visitor numbers, changing patterns of use, and the current level of staffing resource.”A final decision on the move will be made by Cllr Bastiman on Wednesday. By Thomas Barrett, Local Democracy Reporter Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.
Police appeal after Harrogate Hospital theft
Harrogate school for autistic children to open in November
Police statement on 'deeply disturbing' sexual abuse allegations at Harrogate Army college
Health and Healing Festival set to return to Harrogate
Last chance to sign up for Saint Michael's Lake District challenge
Three-day beer festival set to get underway at Harrogate brewery
Knaresborough Town secures record-breaking sponsorship deal
Free bike repair event heads to Ripon
Liberal Democrats win Coppice Valley by-election
Harrogate Taekwondo master to represent Great Britain at World Championships
Harrogate gymnast wins scholarship to study and compete in Alaska
Final tickets released for Symphonic Ibiza at Great Yorkshire Showground
Ripon's Old Deanery serves last meals before restaurant closure
Pateley Club to launch first ever Beer Festival
New hydrotherapy pool opens at local children's hospice
Harrogate fitness coach 'overwhelmed' by support after opening dream gym
Naked charity walk to be held in Ripon this weekend
Record-breaking year for Harrogate's Crime Writing Festival
Council-owned house builder agrees to pay Kirkby Malzeard community money
Council buys new homes in Knaresborough to reduce housing waiting list
