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03
Nov 2021
Ripon Leisure Centre: Harrogate council plans 3D soil map amid sinkhole fears
Harrogate Borough Council is to commission a 3D map of underground soil conditions at the new multi-million pound Ripon Leisure Centre, amid ongoing safety concerns.
The council said in a statement last night the imaging would be part of "ground remedial works and a thorough investigation programme" following the discovery of a void.
The city has a history of sinkholes caused by the soluble of nature gypsum, the rock that lies under much of the area.
The statement said a survey of the whole site and the 3D map would "ensure leisure facilities can continue to be safely provided in Ripon".
Senior councillors will be asked to approve the remedial works and investigation at a cabinet meeting next week,
Read more:
- Subsidence raises fears of collapse for Ripon homes
- Ripon leisure centre won’t fully open with new pool
As reported by the Stray Ferret, Ripon-based chartered engineer Stanley Mackintosh has consistently raised concerns with the council about the suitability of building a swimming pool on land with a history of ground instability issues. But he feels his comments, made at a June 2019 planning meeting where the new leisure centre was approved, were largely dismissed.
The council now plans to open a new six-lane pool on the site on December 8 — but the adjoining leisure centre will only partially open on that date because of concerns about the void.
Council officials confirmed last week that the leisure centre’s ground floor will remain closed.
'Disappointment for some'
Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy, environment and housing, said yesterday:
The void is understood to have been present a number of years and was only discovered last year when the reinforced concrete slab, which provides the foundation for the new swimming pool, was cast.
In May, the council approved an investigation into the "void in the ground" at an estimated cost of £110,000. Now further measures are planned.
The project, which includes a pool, fully-refurbished leisure centre and outside play areas was initially scheduled for completion in May, but ground stabilisation work known as grouting, contributed to a six-month hold up.
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