Rudding House extends market

Rudding House, the conference and banqueting venue on the outskirts of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, is to start offering accommodation to guests through a £3m development, which begins in March.

A three-storey extension is being built on to the west of the house, which will include 50 bedrooms, a lounge bar and brasserie. The project is expected to take a year to complete.

The Grade I-listed building, which opened for business in 1987, now runs about 600 functions a year. Last year it opened an 18-hole golf course.

Managing director Simon Mackaness, whose family owns Rudding House, said he was responding to customer demand in adding the rooms.

"This will enable us to offer residential conference and banqueting as well as moving into the market for golfing and leisure breaks," he said.