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27
May
Completion date revealed for major Ripon scheme
Work on Ripon's long-overdue and over-budget leisure centre scheme is scheduled for completion in summer 2026.
An update on the project, where total costs have almost doubled to £20 million from an original budget of £10.2 million allocated in November 2019, was provided in a report to this morning's meeting of North Yorkshire Council's performance monitoring executive, which said:
Following the completion of the ground works at Ripon Leisure Centre, the refurbishment is due to complete in the summer of 2026
The playing fields have been shut since construction work began more than five years ago
Last month, the Stray Ferret reported that another six-figure sum is to be spent on the leisure centre after North Yorkshire Council received £270,000 from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The money will be spent on refurbishing the leisure centre, which is formally known as Active North Yorkshire Ripon – The Jack Laugher Centre.
Work, which is already underway, includes the refurbishment of the ground floor leisure centre space and services including the sports hall, studios, changing rooms and the external landscaping.
The pool has been open since 2022, but members had to use a temporary gym in the car park until February this year while work to stabilise the site was carried out following the discovery of a sinkhole.
Group fitness classes continue to be held off site at Hugh Ripley Hall.
Landscaping works
In addition to refurbishment of the leisure centre building, which was constructed in 1995 and officially opened by the Duchess of Kent in March 1996, landscaping works are currently underway at the Camp Close site.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for leisure, Cllr Simon Myers, said:
Landscaping work at Ripon Leisure Centre is on-going and most of it is expected to be completed by summer 2025. However, as with all landscaping works, it can be affected by planting and growing seasons and some features may take longer to fully mature.
The playing fields will reopen to the public once the newly seeded grass has established, and a football pitch is part of the scheme.
He added:
As outlined in the latest performance monitoring report, an additional £270,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund has been allocated to the scheme in this financial year. A forecast underspend of £1.1 million is being carried forward to 2025/26 to support the improvements at the leisure centre and playing fields.
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