Spa’s £1m bookings

A MAJOR East Yorkshire venue has attracted £1m of business – two months before it reopens.

Bridlington Spa, which is undergoing a £19.5m refurbishment, has already taken the bookings for conferences and events during the forthcoming year.

Half the £1m has been generated by bookings for events that have not been held at the Spa before.

New bookings include Musicport, a two-day world music festival, the White Rose Yorkshire Tourism Award ceremony and the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

Manager Jeremy Harthill said: “We always thought we had a good business plan for the Spa because it was building on an existing success story, but the minute we started to get customers in the building and show them the new facilities, it became clear they were very interested. The bookings have just kept rolling in.

“We’ve got a nice new range of events, as well as events the venue used to hold before the refurbishment started. I’d say East Yorkshire has probably got the best facility of its kind in the country now on its doorstep.”

Work on the Spa is expected to be completed later this month.

Staff will then receive training before the official launch week at the end of May.

Leeds band The Pigeon Detectives are due to perform to a sell-out crowd at the venue on May 31 and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay will be there following a business conference on June 3.

Events returning to the venue throughout the season include the popular Winmau World Darts Championship and the Christmas pantomime.

The redevelopment of the Spa, which includes a 4,000-capacity music venue, 650-seat theatre, 600-place restaurant and space for major conferences and sporting events, will see visitors spending more money in the region.

The redevelopment has been jointly funded by East Riding Council, the European Regional Development Fund and Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency.

Councillor Stephen Parnaby, leader of the council, said: “I’m delighted the Spa is already repaying this multi-million pound investment by attracting new clients. I believe things will grow rapidly as word spreads about the Spa experience.”

The refurbishment of the Spa began in January 2006 and was due to be completed last summer.

However, while the transformation of the venue took place, a number of technical and construction difficulties were uncovered, which were thought to be from the venue not being properly rebuilt after two fires in 1906 and 1932.

The redevelopment was awarded a £3.5m cash injection from the European fund to cover the rising costs.

A full programme of events for the launch of the Spa will be published on April 22.