A major refurbishment of Harrogate’s Hydro swimming pool looks set to be approved.
Harrogate Borough Council officers have recommended that a plan to build a two-storey extension onto the ageing facility is given the go-ahead.
The Hydro was first opened in 1999 and replaced the old Coppice Valley pool.
The proposals were lodged by the authority and are due to go before a council planning committee next week.
The council is proposing to demolish the current ‘drum’ entrance and replace it with a larger structure that includes a bigger café and reception area on the ground floor and a new 400 square metres fitness suite on the first floor.
As part of its plans to overhaul leisure services, which were approved in June 2020, the council outlined a £13.5 million project to refurbish The Hydro.
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The proposal is backed by Sport England, which said an “improved and modern” facility would benefit the town.
It said:
“An improved and modern leisure facility in this sustainable location delivers a series of benefits, including increasing the opportunity for physical activity, increasing membership and usage and encouraging better interaction with the facilities and services on offer”.
Councillors on the borough council’s planning committee will make a decision on the refurbishment at a meeting on January 6.
Further projects at The Hydro
The move to refurbish The Hydro comes as other work is being done to upgrade the building.
In July, the council confirmed it is to buy a new diving platform to replace the damaged one that has kept divers out of the pool for eight months.
Meanwhile, the council has also given approval for 420 solar panels to be installed on the roof of the pool as part of a decarbonisation project.
The council successfully bid this year for funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy‘s public sector decarbonisation scheme, which helped to fund the panels.
A total of £1.8 million will be spent at The Hydro to install the solar panels, as well as replace gas boilers with air source heat pumps and put in place new energy monitoring and control systems.
The Hydro is now run by Brimhams Active, a new arm’s length leisure company set up by the council this year. It has taken over the running of 12 leisure facilities in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Pateley Bridge.
