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18
Aug
Outdoor centre used by generations of Harrogate district schoolchildren to close
An outdoor education centre used by Harrogate district schools is to close permanently after 70 years, due to rising repair costs.
A planned cash injection into East Barnby Outdoor Centre near Whitby has been cancelled and the site will be handed back to its owner after bosses at North Yorkshire Council voted to end further investment.
Councillors warned of ballooning repair costs at the site, which temporarily closed in December after concerns about the condition of the electrics, and they said significant investment would have been required for it to reopen and remain operational.
Pateley Bridge site modernised
In 2023, the council agreed a £4.2 million revamp of its centres at East Barnby and Bewerley Park, but while the latter site, near Pateley Bridge, was successfully modernised, work never took place on the east coast facility.
Both sites have long been used to provide school pupils from across the region with outdoor and adventure activities, as well as opportunities for GCSE or A Level fieldwork.
Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, executive member for education, learning and skills, said:
The site has operated for more than 70 years, providing generations of young people with impactful residential and day experiences.
It’s been closed since December last year due to electrical issues and comprises 24 prefabricated World War Two buildings with accommodation facilities.
Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday, August 18, she added:
Property services have indicated the site would need significant investment over the next few years to reopen and remain operational.
As it is a leasehold site, this would represent a significant capital investment without long-term asset benefit to the council, on top of the repair and maintenance budget we allocate every year.
This report does not propose ending outdoor learning on the east coast. Instead, it recommends a new delivery model.
Members of the authority’s executive committee voted unanimously to terminate its lease with the Mulgrave Estate and formally end outdoor learning provision from the site.
Alternative available until 2028
However, concerns were raised by coastal councillors about ensuring future provision in the area.
Outdoor education can continue to be offered from Birch Hall Scout Camp, between Whitby and Scarborough, until July 2028 while it considers longer-term options, members were told.
Cllr Liz Colling, chair of the Scarborough and Whitby area committee, said coastal representatives “regret that the infrastructure at East Barnby has suffered from years of underinvestment, but accept that as we do not own the site, there seems to be no other option but to surrender the property back to the landlord”.
Council officers said that repair costs for the East Barnby site were putting pressure on the overall budget of the council’s maintenance service and that “there simply isn’t money in the budget to meet the level of repairs that is needed”.
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