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10
Nov 2021
Sinkhole experts urge councillors to consider new site for Ripon pool
Two sinkhole experts have urged councillors to consider finding an alternative site for the new Ripon leisure centre and pool — a month before it is due to open.
Their comments come after a newly released report by engineering company Stantec revealed the Dallamires Lane site could be permanently plagued by the threat of sinkholes.
Harrogate Borough Council commissioned the report after a void was discovered last year.
Michael Constantine, the council's head of operations, has recommended councillors approve remedial work at a cabinet meeting tonight. But the experts have urged them to postpone a decision and take a longer-term view of the issues raised in the report.
Stanley Mackintosh, a chartered engineer in Ripon, said in a letter to the council that there was a "substantial risk of sudden catastrophic collapse" of land on the site due to the weak "pie-crust" nature of the land.
He told the Stray Ferret:
Read more:
- Ripon Spa Baths closes after 116 years
- Ripon Leisure Centre: Harrogate council plans 3D soil map amid sinkhole fears
The Stantec report reveals there has been substantial and ongoing ground instability beneath the leisure centre building over three decades. It suggests the only way to avoid ongoing problems and costs is to find another site because the bedrock beneath the void is significantly disturbed and collapsed.
Mr Mackintosh, who has consistently raised concerns with the council about building a pool on land with a history of ground instability issues, said the report to councillors tonight contained "inaccuracies and omissions".
He told the Stray Ferret:
'Gradual collapse'
Dr Alan Thompson, a geologist and director of director of Cuesta Consulting in Somerset, said he believed "gradual collapse" was a likelier scenario than sudden collapse.
But he agreed the council should give greater consideration to relocating to another site — an option councillors are recommended to reject tonight. Dr Thompson said:
Stantec's 277-page report says there is a "residual risk" of "catastrophic ground collapse" at the site, where a six-lane pool is due to open on December 8.
The top floor of the adjoining leisure centre is also due to open but the ground floor will remain shut while the remedial work is carried out.
Construction firm Willmott Dixon was awarded a £10.2 million contract in 2019 to build the pool and refurbish the leisure centre. It is not known how much the costs have risen to.
Mr Constantine's report to councillors tonight says:
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