North Yorkshire County Council has said it is determined to secure a future for Bewerley Park outdoor education centre after widespread opposition to its plans to mothball the site.

The council has unveiled plans to introduce a trial seasonal pricing policy at the centre, near Pateley Bridge as well as at its other outdoor education centre in East Barnby, near Whitby.

The review could also see sweeping changes to the centres’ buildings, more investment and the sites amalgamated to make them more efficient.

Councillors and officers will tomorrow consider approving the moves for the coming year, when the centres have been reopened for residential visits, to see if it stimulates extra use of the centres by schools at colder times of the year.

Popular with Harrogate district children

In February the county council said it had never proposed completely closing the centres, but was rather seeking ways to stem the £1.6m losses due to the pandemic.

The changes would see the cost of staying at the centres, which have been visited by generations of children in the Harrogate district, rising slightly at high season and falling at low season.

The proposal would mean the cost of a four-night stay rising by 33 per cent since 2015 to £358.

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Amanda Newbold, the council’s assistant director of education and skills, said an outline business case was being prepared, which would be considered by the authority’s executive in September.

She said it had been discovered prefabricated buildings at East Barnby, the site of RAF Goldsborough’s accommodation and base to 5131 Bomb Disposal Squadron RAF, had “a bit of an issue with asbestos”.

Strong political will

Councillor Patrick Mulligan, the authority’s executive member for education, said the large volume of schools responding to a consultation over the centres had underlined the “huge amount of support” the sites had.

He said there was a strong political will to ensure children could benefit from visits to the centres for many years to come.

Councillor Mulligan said the proposed fees and charges structure would provide a basis for the service to cover its costs, as had been the case in previous years.

He said:

“We are doing everything we can to make sure it is a viable service. We are not ruling out any options.”

He added the biggest challenge facing the council was the age of the buildings, particularly the ones at Bewerley Park, which were designed to be temporary when they were built 80 years ago to house hundreds of evacuees from Leeds.

People have been invited to have their say on the future of Bewerley Park in Nidderdale as part of a county council review.

Three months ago, North Yorkshire County Council said it would review the site and East Barnby, near Whitby, amid the financial impact of the covid pandemic.

The authority had initially proposed mothballing the centre near Pateley Bridge, which caused 16,000 people to sign a petition to save the site.

Senior county councillors then decided to amend the plan and set up a review of the service instead.

Read more:

• Thousands sign petition against Bewerley Park closure
• Future of Bewerley Park outdoor centre under threat
• Councillors vote to review future of Bewerley Park

Now, officials will seek views from schools and local organisations through focus groups and questionnaires.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, executive member for education and skills, said: 

“At the moment Bewerley Park and East Barnby are used largely by primary schools offering week-long residential trips involving outdoor activities such as canoeing, gorge-walking and caving.

“The review will look at what kind of activities we provide in the future, how we use the estate, the facilities we provide and how we make it a sustainable service. We’re looking at this from every angle – including whether we need to work collaboratively with partners in the future, or if we are able to continue with the service as it is.”

The council said the pandemic has cost its outdoor learning service, which includes Bewerley Park, £1 million in the last financial year.

The huts which make up the Bewerley Park estate were built as temporary structures in 1939, with an expected life span of ten to twenty years.

Officials said the huts have become expensive to maintain and investment is needed at both sites.

The authority said the review will look at ways to bring the service back after the pandemic, but in a way “that places it on a sustainable footing”.

To take part in the engagement and give you views, e-mail outdoorlearningreview@northyorks.gov.uk.

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. 

Oatlands one-way system will cause havoc

Thoughtless Implementation

I live on Beech Grove and feel the need to redress the apparent balance of opinion on the new traffic scheme. It is not yet clear whether it will be an eventual benefit as it awaits the link to the cycleways on Otley Road, which are later this year. So patience is required for now.

However, it has been the most thoughtless implementation imaginable. The signs are completely inadequate to inform the motorists of the change so it is almost inevitable that drivers will come up against the barriers. It would have been so easy to display reasonable size signs in good time, but no, it has been implemented as a motorist trap. It would also have helped if there was a partial barrier at the town end of Beech Grove, outside Wentworth Court, being a clear indicator that entry was for residents and parking only.

Whoever has done this should show a little respect for road users.

Chris Graville, Harrogate

Bewerley Park changes lives – we must preserve it

Harrogate schools have shone during covid crisis

As we possibly move closer to a phased reopening of schools, a word of praise and gratitude for our local schools and their excellent staff: the state primary and secondary schools attended by my daughters in years 3 and 7 have done a truly marvellous job of providing user-friendly, well structured online education to pupils during lockdown, honing their provision during this latest period of restriction to a fine art.

They even set up a laptop and tablet donation scheme when the government’s promise to provide these where needed fell short of the mark.

The schools’ exemplary efforts in such testing times show up Education Secretary Gavin Williamson’s premature encouragement to parents to report inadequate online provision for what it is: an act of petty, ideologically driven malice.

Glyn Hambrook, Harrogate

Got an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Councillors sought to reassure the public over the future of Bewerley Park outdoor learning centre as they voted to support a review of its services today.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive this afternoon amended a proposal to mothball the site near Pateley Bridge with immediate effect, saying it sent a negative message.

Instead, the executive agreed to “protect” the site by installing CCTV and other measures to keep it safe while out of use, following a break-in while it was closed.

However, with no sign of school visits resuming and likely limits to reduce the covid risk in future, the council said it still had to review the service and staffing levels, and bring back a business case for approval later in the year.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, NYCC’s executive member for education and skills, said:

“We recognise the risk in the short term but, through the review, we are hoping to achieve a service that is sustainable for a long time into the future. This will require a review of all aspects of the service, including but not limited to staffing.

“The review, which will bring all stakeholders together, will evaluate the benefits of the service, taking into account making comparisons with the wider outdoor education market. The resulting business case aims to provide a sustainable operating model, balancing staffing, property and infrastructure costs.”

NYCC says Bewerley Park requires significant investment to meet modern educational needs. Photo: North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Service.

Before voting, the executive heard from several speakers concerned about a recommendation to review the service and consult on its jobs. Among them were teachers and former pupils who had been to Bewerley Park and East Barnby, who emphasised the value offered by outdoor education and the growing need for it after a year of lockdowns impacting on children’s mental health.

Teacher Ian Bloor, from Eskdale School in Whitby, described the outdoor learning centres as the “jewel in the crown” of North Yorkshire education and said:

“I would like to make a heartfelt plea that any decisions made about the future of the service are made in the full knowledge of just how valuable and valued this service is.”

The meeting also heard from Cllr Stan Lumley, who represents the Pateley Bridge division on NYCC. He urged committee members not to rush into a decision while government support was still available, and with looming local government reorganisation which meant it was not yet clear who would be managing education services from next year.

Finally, Erica Carswell, the manager of Bewerley Park for more than 30 years until 2018, said closing the sites would mean losing the valuable skills and experience of the 42 staff.

It would also remove the option to use them for day visits or respite care for families with special needs in the summer and would discourage schools from booking residential visits for the coming months when covid restrictions would allow. She added:

“It would make better financial sense not to mothball the outdoor centres, but to keep them running at, say, a 50% staffing/capacity. The cost of mothballing is significant and doing so sends out a negative message to the general public and potential clients.”

Read more:

• Thousands sign petition against Bewerley Park closure
• Future of Bewerley Park outdoor centre under threat

Cllr Mulligan told the committee the centres were not set up for day visits and any income would not be sufficient to cover costs, nor to invest in the buildings and facilities which had been needed for many years. He added:

“There’s a misperception that we are looking to close these outdoor education centres. What we are attempting to do is to have a review of them to make them more sustainable.”

The committee heard that, with a projected loss of nearly £1 million in the current financial year, the council had been able to recoup money from government schemes to protect jobs and services, reducing the loss to just over £200,000. However, there was no guarantee the schemes would continue to run beyond their current end dates of March and June.

The outdoor education service had run at a loss of around £50,000 per year for the last five years before the coronavirus crisis, the committee was told.

Cllr Michael Harrison, who represents the Lower Nidderdale and Bishop Monkton division, said the value of the service had to be taken into account as part of the review of its finances:

“Many of the services councils provide, technically, will run at a loss and I prefer to look at it more as an investment…

“Most council leisure centres technically will run at a loss, most libraries will run at a loss, but I view it not so much as a loss but an investment in that service.”

Councillors voted unanimously to support the proposal to introduce short-term protective measures for both Bewerley Park and East Barnby, to review the services and report back later in the year, and to begin consulting with staff over the potential loss of jobs.

Pressure is mounting as North Yorkshire County Council prepares to decide on the future of Bewerley Park Outdoor Education Centre today.

More than 16,000 people have signed a petition opposing the closure of Bewerley Park and East Barnby, near Whitby, after it was revealed that the council is considering whether the two facilities are viable.

The impact of the coronavirus crisis could see both of them mothballed in the short term. A full review of the sites is also being planned to decide whether to keep them open.

Bewerley Park has been welcoming generations of local schoolchildren for many decades, giving them the opportunity to try outdoor activities and learn new skills. Its potential closure has caused significant concern among parents and former pupils who have benefited from the NYCC-owned residential site.

Among the comments from signatories were:

“Both centres are incredibly important for the service they provide to young people for experience of adventurous activity and insight into the environment that sustains us all. They are part of their local and much, much wider community, their impacts resonate for generations and their loss can be ill-afforded.”

One former teacher wrote:

“I have lived in Bewerley for 40 years and I have taught at Harrogate Grammar School. I know what a fantastic resource Bewerley Park represents for both teachers and students. Where else on the curriculum can children undertake these safe activities with experiences and development of skills that can last a lifetime?”

NYCC’s executive is due to meet today to decide whether to proceed with mothballing Bewerley Park and East Barnby, as well as undertaking a review of the long-term future of the service.

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A report from Amanda Newbold, assistant director of children and young people’s services, recommends going ahead with both, and assessing the impact on the 42 staff affected. Some could be redeployed to other services, depending on need, but it is likely some posts would be lost.

Her report said the facilities at Bewerley Park are in need of significant investment to bring them up to modern standards.

The council has vowed to carry out a consultation with schools and local communities about how outdoor learning should be delivered in the future. Ms Newbold said:

“We know that many generations in North Yorkshire have fond memories of visiting Bewerley Park and East Barnby during their schools years. Many thousands of students has passed through the doors of these centres over the last few decades to take part in outdoor adventures and it has a special place in many people’s hearts.

“Unfortunately the estate, including dormitory huts, dining hall and other buildings are in urgent need of updating and modernising and we need to create a more suitable model of outdoor education provision for future generations of children.

“If the buildings at Bewerley Park were old stone structures there wouldn’t be a problem, but the material estate has worn out and we’re spending a significant sum of money trying to patch it up. Unfortunately the buildings aren’t fit for purpose or for the future.

“We need to launch a full review of outdoor learning services and potentially come up with a more sustainable model of delivering the service.

“At this stage nothing is off the table and we would like to work with our existing outdoor learning staff and other stakeholders to see if we to make sure we fully meet the future needs of schools and young people for outdoor education and have a sustainable, long-lasting model for the service in place.”

Bewerley Park Outdoor Learning Centre faces an uncertain future because of the impact of covid and the need for significant investment in its facilities.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive is due to meet next week to decide whether to mothball the site in the short-term, as it is not currently in use.

The long-term future of the site is also under consideration, with staff posts likely to be lost and no certainty of reopening after the coronavirus crisis.

Amanda Newbould, assistant director of education and skills at NYCC, has written a report recommending a review of the site’s viability. The report said:

“The Bewerley Park site requires significant investment to maintain and improve the facilities; there is a capital maintenance backlog and the design and layout of the current buildings do not meet the demands and function required by a modern outdoor education centre.

“A strategic review of the service was planned in early 2020 but was put on hold due to the pandemic.”

As a result, the Nidderdale site – which last year celebrated its 80th anniversary – has seen its income fall dramatically from around £2.25 million, with a deficit of just under £80,000 in 2019-20.

This year, its forecast deficit is almost £1m.

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NYCC’s other residential site, East Barnby near Whitby, is also set to be mothballed and have its future reviewed.

Most of the 42 outdoor learning service staff across the two sites have been furloughed, with five redeployed to local covid response services until the end of March. A number of short-term contracts and traineeships have not been renewed.

Even when residential visits are allowed, the report says it is likely to take some time before schools are on site again to generate income:

“The effect of the current public health and economic situation and their impact on schools and parents’ willingness to commit to residential learning experiences is not yet understood.

“The prospect of sufficient confirmed bookings of residential visits with numbers to produce a viable income for the service to balance its budget is unlikely to improve in the next financial year.

“When residential visits are permitted it is likely that risk mitigation measures will lead to much smaller sized cohorts accessing the residential centres at any time and this will significantly affect levels of income.”

Bewerley Park requires significant sums spending on it to meet modern educational needs. Photo: North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Service.

The planned long-term review will look at the overall need for outdoor education across the county and how this can best be provided. Among the options being considered are partnerships with voluntary and community organisations.

The report proposes mothballing Bewerley Park at the end of the financial year, at a cost of £36,000. This would include ‘winterising’ and draining down services and installing CCTV, with a £20,000 budget to the council’s property services department to keep the site secure.

Consultation on job losses

Some of the staff could be redeployed to other departments depending on need, and the report recommends doing this as soon as possible.

Once the long-term review is complete, a consultation would have to be held about the number of staff retained to work at the two sites in future. The estimated cost of making staff redundant would be just over £200,000.

The report said the earliest the posts could be lost was the end of August this year, following the required consultation and notice period. A “small number” of staff also have tenancies at Bewerley Park linked to their employment, requiring notice to be given for them to move out.

Impact on education

The report also recognises the implications for children’s education. In 2019, 133 schools from across North Yorkshire visited one of the two venues, along with some from outside the county.

Last autumn, a survey indicated 97 North Yorkshire schools were planning to visit again, but covid restrictions have prevented any from doing so. However, the report also says that all the schools planning a visit “said they would consider an alternative delivery model if the residential element were not possible”.

Cllr Graham Spooner, chairman of Bewerley Parish Council, said he was unaware of the proposals until contacted by the Stray Ferret, but was concerned about the impact on the community and the region’s school children.

“If it was going to close, it would be a loss for employment within the area. And a lot of kids from all over Yorkshire come here and would miss it.”