Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
24
Feb 2021
Ripon Spa Baths up for sale amid housing fears
Harrogate Borough Council has officially put 116-year-old Ripon Spa Baths up for sale despite fears it could be turned into housing.
The Grade II listed building has gone on the market in advance of a new £10.2 million Ripon Leisure Centre opening this year.
Commercial property agents Sanderson Weatherall has advertised the baths for an undisclosed price.
The sale document includes a quote from the council's planning department saying the property could be suitable for "low density residential use" or "community uses".
Read more:
- Civic Society backs NHS use for Ripon Spa Baths
- Ripon councillors unite to fight sale of city’s Spa Baths
Ripon City Council passed a motion this month to prevent Harrogate Borough Council selling the baths to a private developer for residential or other redevelopment.
The sale has angered city councillors, who say the borough council did not consult with them.
Ripon Civic Society also called on the borough council to consider how the building could be used to improve health provision in the city.
Harrogate Borough Council declined to comment when the Stray Ferret asked how much it hoped to raise from the sale.
A spokesman previously said:
History of Ripon Spa Baths
The original complex, located next to the Spa Gardens, has the distinction of being the last spa to open in England.
It also became the only spa granted a royal opening when Princess Henry of Battenberg carried out the ceremony in October 1905.
A reconfiguration of the building in 1936, saw the complex converted into the city’s first public swimming pool.
Ornate stained glass windows and other architectural features remain to this day.
0