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01
Aug
Council responds to complaints that Harrogate district paddling pools are underfilled
North Yorkshire Council has responded to claims that paddling pools in the Harrogate area have been underfilled.
Pools in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon have all been opened ahead of the school holidays after suffering delayed openings.
However, some people have taken to social media to question whether the facilities have been underfilled.
Knaresborough Liberal Democrat councillors, Hannah Gostlow and Matt Walker, posted a picture celebrating the opening of Bebra Gardens pool and thanking the team for their hard work – but said: “One question, though: was the paddling pool always only filled to about halfway?”
Responses flooded in, with many saying they recalled the pool being much deeper in the past.
Some suggested that it was to save water, with others saying it provided a “shallow end” allowing wildlife to escape if they fell in.
Similar comments have been made regarding Harrogate’s Valley Gardens and Ripon’s Borrage Green pools.
In fact, after complaints about the shallowness of the water, Ripon City Council increased the water level at its paddling pool.
A number of concerns have also been raised regarding the slipperiness of the pools. Some said their children had fallen over, while many recommended anti-slip beach shoes.
The Stary Ferret took these concerns to North Yorkshire Council, and a spokesperson said:
The pools are filled to the correct level that they are designed for.
The paint is anti-slip and is designed to be used on paddling pools. Warning signs are in place at the three pools although all outdoor, wet areas pose a risk of slipping.
It comes after council-owned paddling pools in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon all suffered delayed openings this year.
Children were due to start using them in May but the Harrogate pool in Valley Gardens opened last month, the Ripon pool at Borrage Green opened on July 17 and Knaresborough’s on July 24.
The council said the delay in Knaresborough was due to “issues identified during routine maintenance checks”.
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