Bewerley Park Outdoor Learning Centre faces an uncertain future because of the impact of covid and the need for significant investment in its facilities.
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive is due to meet next week to decide whether to mothball the site in the short-term, as it is not currently in use.
The long-term future of the site is also under consideration, with staff posts likely to be lost and no certainty of reopening after the coronavirus crisis.
Amanda Newbould, assistant director of education and skills at NYCC, has written a report recommending a review of the site’s viability. The report said:
“The Bewerley Park site requires significant investment to maintain and improve the facilities; there is a capital maintenance backlog and the design and layout of the current buildings do not meet the demands and function required by a modern outdoor education centre.
“A strategic review of the service was planned in early 2020 but was put on hold due to the pandemic.”
As a result, the Nidderdale site – which last year celebrated its 80th anniversary – has seen its income fall dramatically from around £2.25 million, with a deficit of just under £80,000 in 2019-20.
This year, its forecast deficit is almost £1m.
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NYCC’s other residential site, East Barnby near Whitby, is also set to be mothballed and have its future reviewed.
Most of the 42 outdoor learning service staff across the two sites have been furloughed, with five redeployed to local covid response services until the end of March. A number of short-term contracts and traineeships have not been renewed.
Even when residential visits are allowed, the report says it is likely to take some time before schools are on site again to generate income:
“The effect of the current public health and economic situation and their impact on schools and parents’ willingness to commit to residential learning experiences is not yet understood.
“The prospect of sufficient confirmed bookings of residential visits with numbers to produce a viable income for the service to balance its budget is unlikely to improve in the next financial year.
“When residential visits are permitted it is likely that risk mitigation measures will lead to much smaller sized cohorts accessing the residential centres at any time and this will significantly affect levels of income.”
Bewerley Park requires significant sums spending on it to meet modern educational needs. Photo: North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Service.
The planned long-term review will look at the overall need for outdoor education across the county and how this can best be provided. Among the options being considered are partnerships with voluntary and community organisations.
The report proposes mothballing Bewerley Park at the end of the financial year, at a cost of £36,000. This would include ‘winterising’ and draining down services and installing CCTV, with a £20,000 budget to the council’s property services department to keep the site secure.
Consultation on job losses
Some of the staff could be redeployed to other departments depending on need, and the report recommends doing this as soon as possible.
Once the long-term review is complete, a consultation would have to be held about the number of staff retained to work at the two sites in future. The estimated cost of making staff redundant would be just over £200,000.
The report said the earliest the posts could be lost was the end of August this year, following the required consultation and notice period. A “small number” of staff also have tenancies at Bewerley Park linked to their employment, requiring notice to be given for them to move out.
Impact on education
The report also recognises the implications for children’s education. In 2019, 133 schools from across North Yorkshire visited one of the two venues, along with some from outside the county.
Last autumn, a survey indicated 97 North Yorkshire schools were planning to visit again, but covid restrictions have prevented any from doing so. However, the report also says that all the schools planning a visit “said they would consider an alternative delivery model if the residential element were not possible”.
Cllr Graham Spooner, chairman of Bewerley Parish Council, said he was unaware of the proposals until contacted by the Stray Ferret, but was concerned about the impact on the community and the region’s school children.
“If it was going to close, it would be a loss for employment within the area. And a lot of kids from all over Yorkshire come here and would miss it.”
