A YORK company has won the £2.25 million contract to build the new exhibition hall at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The announcement that Simpson Construction of Osbaldwick is to build the major exhibition complex came as the Earl of Harewood, honorary life vice-president of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, cut the first piece of turf to mark the start of the project.

Work is expected to be completed by next spring, in good time for next year's Great Yorkshire Show, when the hall will house a new food exhibition at the showground site off Wetherby Road, Harrogate.

Ron Gatenby, managing director of Simpson Construction, said: "We are delighted to have been awarded this prestigious, fast-track contract, and are pleased to be working with the Yorkshire Agricultural Society to produce an important feature in the showground development."

The entire complex with total 5,372 square metres, and will be known as YES - Yorkshire's Events Solution.

It will comprise the existing accommodation (the Flower Hall/Hall One), with 3,422 square metres, and the new building, Hall Two, which measures 1,950 square metres. The two will be linked by a cafeteria and restaurant area, and so both can be used either as a "stand alone" venue or together for larger events.

The single storey building, designed by architects Gelder and Kitchen of Hull, will be constructed to blend into the existing landscape, with the facade faced in attractive trellising and external planting.

As a special feature it will have a distinctive pyramid-shaped roof, and the structure will be enhanced by a glass-fronted entrance to the north, and a glass facade to the south.

PICTURE: The Earl of Harewood cuts the first sod for the Yorkshire Showground's new exhibition hall watched by Ron Gatenby (right), managing director of Simpson of York, who will build the new hall, and Christopher Hall, show director