Harrogate Borough Council sells offices for £4m

Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) has sold its 18th-century office building for £4m, ending a long-running saga for the North Yorkshire town.

Impala Estates, who owns a portfolio of commercial and industrial property in Yorkshire, plans to develop the Crescent Gardens building into offices.

HBC put the building up for sale in 2014 after it decided to ‘consolidate’ its various sites across the town into a new purpose-built facility.

In 2015, the council agreed to sell the property to local businessman Adam Thorpe who wanted to turn the Crescent Gardens building into luxury apartments.

Mr Thorpe believed the development could be a big moneyspinner and eventually be worth upwards of £75m.

However, after failing to submit a planning permission in time, HBC the plug on the deal, with the Harrogate Advertiser reporting that Mr Thorpe owed creditors £11m.

The building was put back up for sale in early 2019 and had received ‘significant national interest’, according to HBC.

Harrogate Borough Council Cllr Graham Swift said: ‘The proposed plans will ensure that this high-quality local asset is regenerated to deliver a building that provides much-needed office space in the town centre and provide community benefits that keeps Crescent Gardens as a vibrant addition to Harrogate town.

‘Although the sale process has appeared lengthy, I am delighted that the sale has now been fully completed and I look forward to working with Impala Estates and our planning teams to ensure the development is implemented successfully.’

A planning application is due to be submitted later this year.

Photo Credit – Sanderson Weatherall