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13
Jul 2024
Cost of construction delays at Harrogate and Knaresborough leisure centres revealed
The council-owned company that runs leisure centres in the Harrogate district made a loss of £491,000 in 2023/24.
Brimhams Active operates leisure centres in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, as well as Starbeck Baths. It also manages the Turkish baths in Harrogate and several ‘wellbeing hubs’.
Details of its financial position are contained in a report to councillors on the performance of the Brierley Group of companies owned by North Yorkshire Council.
The report says the pre-tax loss for Brimhams is “primarily due to uncontrollable construction delays to the facility development programme that delayed the date at which increased levels of income could be achieved”. It adds the delays involved Harrogate and Knaresborough leisure and wellness centres.
The £17.5 million Knaresborough leisure centre opened in December last year, three months after Harrogate Hydro reopened under a new name following a 17-month, £13.5 million refurbishment.
The report does not mention the £2 million that has been pumped into stabilising land at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon, where members continue to use a temporary gym in the car park because of ongoing work.
Group records £3.93 million profit
The Brierley Group, which consists of 12 companies, was set up to generate income for the council.
The group lost £327,000 in 2022/23, which raised concerns over whether the council should run companies to make money.
But the latest report hails its 'strong performance’ and says the group generated £158.3 million and made a pre-tax profit of £3.93 million in 2023/24.
The only two of the 12 companies not to make a profit were Brimhams Active and housebuilding company Brierley Homes.
Brierley Homes was budgeted to make £959,000 but lost £1.3 million, which the report attributes to ‘ongoing challenges which have resulted in delays and additional costs being incurred at the Marton-cum-Grafton site’. Fourteen homes have been built at Marton.
Brierley Homes' Yew Tree Farm development at Marton-cum-Grafton.
It adds:
The consolidated development plan for Brierley Homes continues to be refined, but forecasts demonstrate significant pre-tax profit projections for the two years commencing 2024/25.
Waste company Yorwaste vastly exceeded expectations by making £1.1 million against a budgeted forecast of £78,000 due to “healthy landfill gas revenues’.
Building design consultancy Align Property Partners made £1.2 million and education company North Yorkshire Education Service generated £854,000.
The report concludes the companies “continue to present strong shareholder value to North Yorkshire Council”.
It says:
Additional shareholder value is driven through the delivery of affordable homes by Brierley Homes and financial efficiencies delivered to North Yorkshire Council by works undertaken by North Yorkshire Highways.
But it warns resourcing, staff recruitment and retention and inflation remain challenges. It adds:
Resourcing issues within the Brierley Group are exacerbated by the ongoing workload pressures arising from local government reorganisation and a lack of capacity within the council’s professional support service teams to assist with the development of growth plans across the group.
Councillors on the local authority’s shareholder committee will consider the report on Tuesday (July 16).
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