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15
Aug 2022
A leading authority on Ripon sinkholes has called on Harrogate Borough Council to 'get a reality check' and abandon plans to spend yet more money on the city's leisure centre.
The council said this month it plans to carry out further ground stability measures at the site, which could take a year.
A report to be considered by HBC's cabinet on Wednesday, says the work will cost £3.5 million. If approved, this will take the running total on the project to more than £18 million.
The original contract awarded in November 2019 to construction company Willmott Dixon, had a price tag of £10.2 million for delivery of the scheme. The completion date was originally scheduled for May 2021.
Chartered geologist and town planner Dr Alan Thompson, who was the principal author of a major report on the city's subsidence issues, has said the site will always carry a "significant residual risk" of problems.
Dr Thompson added that by not considering relocating to a new site, the council was "ploughing more and more money into a scheme which is destined to fail".
He has sent a letter by email to council chief executive Wallace Sampson and all cabinet members expressing his concerns.
But the council's cabinet looks set to vote in favour of further expenditure on remediation works at the site, after issuing a statement a week ago, in which it said:
The statement added:
The council's view is considerably at odds with Dr Thompson's opinion on the situation.
Ripon Leisure Centre
The reports, which were obtained following a Freedom of Information request to the council by Ripon resident and chartered engineer Stanley Mackintosh, were supplied to Dr Thompson, who said the documents:
Dr Thompson added:
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