COUNCILLORS have given overwhelming backing for an £8m restoration scheme for Harrogate's crumbling Royal Hall - despite Ripon City Council's plea not to do so.

At a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council on Wednesday, 36 voted in favour of the project and there were ten against.

The vote came after a letter was circulated by the Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Stuart Martin, conveying unanimous opposition from Ripon council to the borough council committing £2m towards the scheme.

The letter said: "It is grossly unfair for a council that represents one of the largest districts in England to consider ploughing virtually all its capital into one project in Harrogate - and not putting funding into more important projects in other parts of the district."

The mayor said that in view of poor Government grant settlements for Harrogate in recent years, the city council felt the borough council should be investing available capital in revenue-generating projects.

"People in Ripon understand that the people of Harrogate have an affinity to the Royal Hall, but we do not believe that the rest of the district should have to pay dearly to support that affinity," said the letter.

Coun Martin said city council members hoped there would be "a vote with heads rather than hearts, opposing such a potentially disastrous measure".

Following the vote, Harrogate council will now table a formal application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a £6m grant, with the council committing £2m to the project, as agreed at Wednesday's meeting.