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28
May 2021
Council to press ahead with Ripon Leisure Centre 'hole' investigation
Harrogate Borough Council will press ahead with an investigation into a hole in the ground found next to Ripon Leisure Centre following assurances from senior officers over the work.
Senior councillors on the authority's cabinet approved the measures at a meeting earlier this week, which is estimated to cost £110,000.
In a report before councillors, the authority said it was required to investigate the “void in the ground” in order to retain its business insurance on the building.
The city has a history of sinkholes caused by the soluble of nature gypsum, the rock that lies under much of the area.
Read more:
- Council to investigate hole on Ripon Swimming Pool site
- Ripon pool’s final cost ‘not yet known’, says council
The hole was discovered next to the entrance of the existing leisure centre last year and has been filled with crushed gravel as a short-term solution.
Michael Constantine, head of operations at the council, told the cabinet meeting that he could reassure them that the council had employed expertise to handle the investigation.
He said:
Consultant engineers have told the council that further investigation will be required and remedial work if necessary.
In order to carry out the work, the council will have to self-insure as it says it will not be covered by any third-party insurance
The current insured value of the centre is £3,796,135 plus 10% contents, which the authority says would be lost should any damage be caused as a result of the work.
But, council officers have said this would be a “worst case scenario” and is considered to be an “unlikely event”.
Concerns over Ripon Pool void
Before the meeting on Wednesday, Dr Alan Thompson, is a chartered geologist and a director of Cuesta Consulting Limited, emailed members of the cabinet.
He called on them to take concerns, raised by Ripon-based chartered engineer Stanley Mackintosh, "very seriously".
Mr Mackintosh has consistently raised concerns with HBC about the suitability of building a swimming pool on land with a history of ground instability issues.
However, his comments, made at the June 2019 planning meeting, where the £10 million plus pool scheme was approved, he feels were largely dismissed.
On Tuesday, Mr Mackintosh reiterated his concerns in an email sent to all cabinet members.
Both his and Dr Thompson's emails, were sent prior to the HBC cabinet meeting, where senior councillors considered a report about a 'hole' discovered last year, next to the entrance of the existing Ripon Leisure Centre.
The refurbished leisure centre is physically attached to the new pool.
Dr Thompson, who is also the principal author of the definitive report into gypsum-related subsidence in the city, said in his email:
In 1996, Dr Thompson and fellow experts produced a report, titled 'Assessment of subsidence arising from gypsum dissolution with particular reference to Ripon, North Yorkshire'.
The report was commissioned by HBC and the former Department of the Environment, provided the basis for the land instability policies which the council has in place.
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