Demolition begins at start of £10m showground upgrade

DEMOLITION WORK has now begun to clear the way for a new £10 million state-of-the-art events venue in Harrogate.
By Ben Barnett
Published 29th Jul 2015, 15:31 BST
Adrian Taylor, of P+HS Architects of Stokesley, Heather Parry, deputy chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and Nick Todd, regional business unit manager at Clugston, as work begins on the £10m new exhibition hall at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.Adrian Taylor, of P+HS Architects of Stokesley, Heather Parry, deputy chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and Nick Todd, regional business unit manager at Clugston, as work begins on the £10m new exhibition hall at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.
Adrian Taylor, of P+HS Architects of Stokesley, Heather Parry, deputy chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and Nick Todd, regional business unit manager at Clugston, as work begins on the £10m new exhibition hall at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.

The old main exhibition hall at the Great Yorkshire Showground, a structure that was only intended to last for 20 years when it was erected in the 1960s, is being take down before its modern and larger replacement is constructed on the same site.

Completion is scheduled for late spring 2016, with bookings already being taken for the new venue which will suit a range of events, from blue chip company conferences to large dinners and exhibitions or sporting events.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It will also have a café, large foyer, offices and dedicated workshop and seminar space.

As the building will adjoin an existing hall, the total event space will extend to 6,270 sq m.

Its predecessor was used for the Great Yorkshire Show and the Harrogate Spring and Autumn Flower Shows, among 48 events each year.

As demolition work got underway today, Heather Parry, deputy chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said: “We are delighted to be starting work on such an exciting project, the largest in our organisation’s history. There’s so much potential in this development for us, our region and beyond.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The economic impact that events on the Showground generate per annum is currently £47m and this new project will see this figure increase significantly. To ensure existing business continues we have hired a DeBoer Structure to create a temporary exhibition venue - so it will be business as usual while the build goes on.”

The building work is being carried out by Yorkshire based Clugston Construction Ltd.

Related topics:HarrogateGreat Yorkshire ShowgroundYorkshireYorkshire Agricultural Society