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18
Jan 2022
Swimming club 'mortified' after Harrogate council hikes fee for new pool
Members of a historic club that teaches children how to swim in Ripon say they are "mortified" they won't be able to use the city's £15m new pool after Harrogate Borough Council tripled its fee to use it, effectively outpricing them.
Ripon City Swimming Club began by teaching swimming lessons in the River Ure before the Spa Baths was built in 1904, which its members helped to build.
Since the 1930s, the volunteer-run club ran classes on Thursday evenings at the Spa Baths. The swimming lessons were run separately from HBC's own classes, with the council charging the club £4,500 a year to use the pool.
Families were looking forward to being able to use the pool at the state-of-the-art Jack Laugher Leisure Centre, which is set to open this month.
However, the club was left shocked after the council offered space at the new pool, but only if it stumped up £12,500 a year — almost three times what it was previously paying.
Nicola Horner, speaking on behalf of the Ripon City Swimming Club committee, told the Stray Ferret that HBC has "completely outpriced" the swimming club from using it. She believes the council views the volunteer-run club as competition to its own classes.
She added:
Different generations
Ripon City Swimming Club's teachers are all Swim England qualified. The council initially told the club it wanted to amalgamate it with its own swimming lessons, but the club declined.
Ms Horner said they wanted to keep the family-oriented club separate from the council.
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With the club unable to pay the £12,500 a year that the council was demanding, it looked like the historic club would have to fold.
But Ripon Grammar School has offered the club space to continue lessons at the school's pool on Tuesday nights.
Although the club has found a new home, Ms Horner said the move by the council to drastically increase its fee stings as its members supported and campaigned for its bid to build the new pool.
She said:
Council's response
Brimhams Active is the new council-controlled company that has taken over leisure centres in the Harrogate district, including the Hydro in Harrogate and Knaresborough Swimming Pool.
A spokesperson for Brimhams Active said:
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