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18
Oct 2024
'Sympathetic and deliverable' £2 million Ripon Spa Baths redevelopment gets underway
The man behind the redevelopment of Ripon’s historic Spa Baths has said the scheme will “continue the resurrection of the city’s spa quarter” as work gets underway,
Generations of Riponians learned to swim at the grade two listed building, which opened in 1905 and closed three years ago.
A local family – the Sternes – have bought the building from North Yorkshire Council and are spending more than £2 million revitalising the decaying site.
Sterne Properties will create hospitality-led commercial units, four flats and a publicly-accessible open courtyard on the site while restoring and retaining its original Edwardian frontage.
Boards recently went up around the building, which is part of the spa quarter that also includes the Ripon Inn, Spa Gardens and Spa Park so work can get underway.
Boarding has been erected outside Spa Baths.
Robert Sterne, managing director of Sterne Properties, which specialise in rejuvenating Ripon buildings, said:
This is an exciting project for our business – as a local family we are passionate about conserving Ripon’s heritage whilst encouraging new and exciting businesses to operate in our city. This scheme will continue the resurrection of the city’s spa quarter.
We want to roll the clock back to when the spa baths were built - the original façade will be restored so it looks just as it was intended to look in the early 1900s. By opening up the south elevation and creating a rear courtyard the Spa Baths will once again work as it was originally designed. For example, natural light will flood the pump room through the stunning stained glass panels. This is something that hasn’t been seen since the 1930s.
Our architect, Andrew Burningham, has worked meticulously on this scheme which has resulted in a sympathetic and deliverable plan to preserve and enhance the spa baths.
The swimming pool lays empty in the former Ripon Spa Baths.
Councillor Barbara Brodigan, a Liberal Democrat who represents Ripon Ure Bank and Spa on the council, said Sterne Properties “have a good track record in sympathetic preservation of traditional buildings in the city”, adding:
The proposals for development of this iconic building are most welcome and will contribute to the aesthetic and economic development of the spa quarter.
Cllr Andrew Williams, a member of the council’s Conservatives and Independents group who represents Ripon Minster and Moorside division, added:
I am delighted that the building is going to be brought back into use rather laying to rot and decay next to the Spa Gardens. I look forward to seeing the finished scheme which will complement the newly refurbished Ripon Inn and Ripon Spa Gardens and play a major role in the regeneration of Ripon.
The fine ornate interior of the Pump Room of Spa Baths is finished with tile, marble and stained glass which depict scenes from Ripon's history. (Copyright North Yorkshire Council / North Yorkshire County Record Office.)
Spa Baths were opened on October 24, 1905, by HRH Princess Henry of Battenberg. (Copyright North Yorkshire Council/ North Yorkshire County Record Office.)
The building opened when Ripon saw the success Harrogate was enjoying as a spa town. Spa water was pumped four miles from Aldfield with customers served from a basin in the elaborately tiled entrance hall. The swimming pool was added in the 1930s at the edge of the Spa Gardens.
But the baths closed and was later replaced by the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lane.
Cllr Gareth Dadd, the council’s Conservative deputy leader, said:
Sterne Properties was selected as the preferred purchaser for this building because of its positive plans for the future of the site.
Ripon's Spa Baths were the last of their kind to open in England and we wanted to be sure this listed building was preserved for the city. Robert Sterne and his team have very exciting plans for the building which fits into our focus on the regeneration of our town and city centres and the repurposing of buildings.
It will breathe new life into this historic building and into this area of the city as it brings new people into its hospitality units.
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