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14
Apr
Starbeck Baths wins key listing to protect it from development
Starbeck Baths is to be listed as an asset of community value amid concerns about its long-term viability.
The council-owned swimming pool, which was built on Spa Lane in 1870, is frequently the subject of closure rumours.
Speculation has increased due to North Yorkshire Council’s precarious financial position and the amount of money it has spent on nearby leisure centres recently.
More than £50 million has been pumped into either upgrading or building new leisure centres in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough.
Harrogate Town Council applied to have the baths, which in November last year had 536 members and over 1,100 monthly casual users, listed as an asset of community value in December last year.
Now North Yorkshire Council has approved the listing. A report explaining its decision says:
The evidence demonstrates that the nomination meets the definition of community value as detailed in the Localism Act 2011. It is therefore recommended that Starbeck Swimming Pool is listed as an asset of community value and placed on the North Yorkshire Council list of successful nominations.
What does it mean?
The Localism Act gives communities the ‘right to bid’ to buy land or property considered to be of community value — if they are listed as assets of community value.
This means that if the council decides to sell Starbeck Baths, community groups would have up to six months to put together a bid to buy it on the open market.
The council would not be obliged to accept the bid and could sell to whoever it wanted at the end of the moratorium period.
However, getting the baths listed as an asset of community value does at least give the community the chance to raise funds to bid to buy the site.
Councillor Chrissie Holmes, a Liberal Democrat who represents Starbeck on the town council, welcomed the news:
The feedback from residents clearly showed how important the facility is to people locally, both in terms of health and wellbeing and as a community space.
This designation helps to recognise that value and, whilst there is no immediate threat of closure,provides an additional level of reassurance about the future of the site.
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