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10
Nov
Fresh fears for Starbeck Baths as council seeks £34 million savings
Fresh concerns have been expressed for the future of Starbeck Baths as North Yorkshire Council begins the process of identify savings to its budget.
Council finance chief, Councillor Gareth Dadd, warned residents in August to “be prepared for the most severe budget round that this authority and its predecessors has ever faced”.
Now the process of finding cuts for 2025/26 and beyond is underway. The council announced today (November 10) it had opened a public consultation, called Let’s Talk Money, on its spending priorities. You can have your say here.
The Stray Ferret understands North Yorkshire councillors were briefed last week that the focus is likely to be on leisure, libraries and museums as they are non-statutory services which local authorities are not obliged to provide.
With hefty investments in modern leisure centres in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon in recent years, the ageing Starbeck Baths — which opened in 1870 — is seen by some as ripe for savings.
Concerns were raised at Starbeck Residents' Association’s AGM last week.
Chris Watt, who was re-elected association chair, told the Stray Ferret:
Starbeck Baths is a vital local facility, used by a wide range of people, including families, elderly people and people with disabilities, as well as our local school.
I am particularly passionate about the baths as my young son enjoys his swimming lessons there. The residents' association succeeded in securing the future of the baths when its future was threatened some years ago.
As a well-used and inclusive facility, there are very good reasons for the council to continue to support the baths. Local people can therefore be assured that their residents' association will do everything we possibly can to safeguard the future of our swimming pool.
'Tough decisions'
The council is predicting a £34 million deficit by the end of 2027/28 but changes to how the government allocates funds to councils could see this figure worsen by another £15 million to £20 million by next month.
The council said in a statement today:
“We have already implemented a wide-ranging savings and efficiency programme with planned savings of over £88 million since the creation of North Yorkshire Council, much of this through the efficiency opportunities from merging eight former councils into a single new council. Despite this our budget remains under intense pressure."
Conservative council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said:
“We are concerned that ministers do not fully understand the financial issues of running services in such a large rural area. Unless the government changes its approach, we are likely to be dealing with very significant reductions in the grant we receive.”
Currently 50 per cent of the council’s overall annual budget of £1.3 billion is used to fund support for vulnerable people – with the largest amount at 32 per cent going on adult social care and health.
Deputy leader, Cllr Dadd, said today: “We will listen and take into account all the views and comments we receive, but we cannot rule out that there will be some tough decisions going forward.”
A report on the proposed 2026/27 budget will be considered by the council’s executive in January before a final decision is made at a full council meeting on February 13.
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