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Apr 2021

Last Updated: 14/04/2021

Politics

£34,000: the cost of heating closed Ripon pool

by Tim Flanagan

| 14 Apr, 2021

It has emerged that Harrogate Borough Council has spent £34,000 heating Ripon Spa Baths over the past year - even though it has been closed to the public. The news has prompted calls for the pool to be immediately reopened.

ripon-29th-march-2021-spa-baths-interior

Harrogate Borough Council has spent £34,000 heating Ripon Spa Baths since it closed in March last year, the Stray Ferret has discovered.

The pool is one of three in the Harrogate district, along with Knaresborough and Starbeck, to remain closed after leisure facilities were allowed to reopen on Monday.

The council has now disclosed the cost of keeping the water warm and the plant in operational condition during the last year of closure to Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council.

Councillor Williams said it would be "council taxpayer money down the drain if the baths are not reopened" immediately.

He said:

"Construction of Ripon's new pool will not be complete until November.

"The swimming pools at Knaresborough and Starbeck are closed and travel to Harrogate Hydro and the Nidderdale pool in Pateley Bridge is not advisable, as the government still urges us to stay as local as possible.

"Taking all of these factors into consideration, I find it hard to believe that Harrogate Borough Council cannot find the personnel needed for Spa Baths to reopen straight away.

"They must tell the citizens of Ripon - particularly young people who have had months of no leisure activity during lockdown - exactly when they can go swimming again."

The heat is on to reopen Ripon baths

Call for urgent action to safeguard future of historic Ripon building

The Grade II Listed Spa Baths was deemed 'surplus to requirements' in February and put on the market.

Cllr Williams, the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin and representatives of Ripon Civic Society, found the pool in operational condition last month when they were shown around the building by selling agents Sanderson Weatherall.

This prompted the senior councillors, along with other city councillors, to call for reopening from 12 April, when lockdown restrictions were lifted.

But that date has passed and the pool remains closed.

A spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said reopening Spa Baths when lockdown restrictions changed on Monday was not possible because sport and leisure staff have been redeployed to other services.

The spokeswoman added:

“We have kept the pool at Ripon Spa Baths heated because we have been using it for staff training while the building was closed to the public.

“All systems which keep the pool functioning have been set to the lowest level.

“It is far more cost-effective to maintain a minimum heat in the water than allow it to cool completely and then have to reheat it to the required temperature.

“Pool water which retains some heat and continues to circulate through the filtration system, albeit slowly, will also prevent damage to the infrastructure and algae build-up.

“Heating also protects the fabric of the building from condensation and decay.

“We look forward to welcoming back swimmers as soon as we can.”

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£34,000: the cost of heating closed Ripon pool

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