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03
Aug 2021
Staffing a major challenge says new Harrogate leisure company boss
The new manager of the council-controlled company that has taken over leisure centres in the Harrogate district says staffing is a challenge.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mark Tweedie, the company’s new managing director, said although a number of these vacant roles would be filled in the coming weeks, staffing was still one of the most immediate challenges it faced.
He said:
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The company also faces a longer term challenge. Under local government reorganisation, all council services will come under the control of a new unitary authority serving the whole of North Yorkshire by April 2023 when the current two-tier system will be scrapped.
Like Harrogate, some other councils including Selby and Scarborough already have a system of leisure services being run by external companies.
But ultimately it will be for the new North Yorkshire council to decide whether these arrangements should continue beyond 2023 or if a county-wide approach is to be taken.
If all leisure services are brought in-house under the new authority, the road ahead for Brimhams Active will be an uncertain one. it could mean Brimhams Active is scrapped just a few years after launching.
Mr Tweedie said:
The council has spent less than £300,000 on setting up Brimhams Active which is now running 12 leisure venues in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Pateley Bridge.
Some decisions over how services are run will be made exclusively by a board of seven directors made up of councillors and council staff.
This includes councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats, who said she was pleased that the launch of the company showed a commitment to keeping services running.
She said:
Mr Tweedie added:
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