Last weekend’s planned installation of the £300,000 temporary gym in the car park at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon did not go ahead.

As reported in the Stray Ferret, the installation was scheduled to take place between March 25 and 26, with the leisure centre and adjacent children’s playground shut during the operation.

However, a spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said this morning:

“Unfortunately, due to the predicted high winds, the installation was postponed until this weekend.”

The spokesperson added the leisure centre and playground is now due to close at 6pm on Saturday (April 1) until Monday morning (April 3) to ensure the gym can be put in place.

Its Installation will enable the closure of the existing gym on the upper floor of the 28-year-old leisure centre next to the new swimming pool that opened last March, paving the way for ground stabilisation works costing £3.5million to be carried out under the building.

A week ago the council, which runs the site through its leisure company Brimhams Active, said the temporary facility would open next month:

In its statement, the council added:

“The gym will include the high-quality, state-of-the-art Technogym equipment currently available in the existing leisure and wellness centre, as well as expert advice and guidance from the Brimhams Active team.

“Customers will still be able to use the changing and shower facilities in the new pool area – as well as the sauna and steam suite – as they will remain open as normal.

“Group exercise classes will also continue to be provided at Hugh Ripley Hall.”

A new council is set to take over in the Harrogate district next week.

Both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council will make way for North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

Brimhams Active, an arms length company owned by Harrogate Borough Council, currently runs leisure services in the district.

In this article, we explain what will happen to leisure facilities under the new North Yorkshire Council.

Who currently runs leisure facilities in the district?

Currently, Brimhams Active operates leisure facilities in the Harrogate district.

The company was set up in August 2020 to run swimming pools and leisure centres.

This includes Harrogate Hydro, Knaresborough Pool, Starbeck Baths and the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon.

Brimhams Active has also overseen major projects, such as the redevelopment of the Harrogate Hydro swimming pool and the construction of new facilities in Ripon and Knaresborough.

What will happen under the new council?

As of April 1, Brimhams Active will transfer over to North Yorkshire Council.

The new council will add Selby’s leisure services to the Brimhams Active portfolio from September 2024.

North Yorkshire Council will also undertake a £120,000 review of leisure services with the aim of creating a countywide model for delivering leisure and sport by 2027.

While people who use the centres may not see an immediate change, the ownership of the company will be different.

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A £300,000 temporary gym in the car park at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre site in Ripon will be opening next month.

Its installation will enable the closure of the existing gym on the upper floor of the 28-year-old leisure centre next to the new swimming pool that opened last March, paving the way for ground stabilisation works costing £3.5million to be carried out under the building.

To ensure the temporary gym can be installed safely, the leisure and wellness centre and playground will be closed from 6pm Saturday (March 25) until Monday morning (March 27) .

The announcement has come from Harrogate Borough Council 10 days before it is abolished and becomes part of the new North Yorkshire unitary authority.

Last July, the council announced that the temporary gym would open ‘in the autumn’ (of 2022) but this date was subsequently put back.

This morning the council, which runs the site through its leisure company Brimhams Active, said:

“A temporary gym at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon is set to open next month (April) to ensure residents can keep fit and active.

“The gym will include the high-quality, state-of-the-art Technogym equipment currently available in the existing leisure and wellness centre, as well as expert advice and guidance from the Brimhams Active team.

“Customers will still be able to use the changing and shower facilities in the new pool area – as well as the sauna and steam suite – as they will remain open as normal.

“Group exercise classes will also continue to be provided at Hugh Ripley Hall.”

The council statement added:

“The temporary gym, which has started to be installed, is being used to provide customers with an alternative offer while the ground stabilisation works take place.

“These works come following the discovery of a void underneath part of the original leisure centre. The void is understood to have been present for a number of years and was only discovered when the reinforced concrete slab, which provides the foundation for the new swimming pool, was cast.

“On discovery of this void, the borough council appointed a contractor to carry out a thorough investigation programme under the original leisure centre to determine what work may be required to ensure the facility can continue to be used for many years to come.”

Councillor Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at Brimhams Active, said:

“We remain committed to enabling people to enjoy physical activity. By providing a temporary gym, while the ground stabilisation works take place, we can minimise the disruption to current and potential customers and ensure they can continue to maintain their health and well-being goals.”

“The fantastic new swimming pool will also remain open as usual and continues to provide an excellent health and wellness experience.”

A group that unsuccessfully lobbied Harrogate Borough Council in a bid to have a learner pool built in Ripon estimates that up to 1,000 of the city’s children have yet to be taught how to swim.

In 2018, before planning permission was granted  for construction of the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, Ripon Pool Action Group (RPAG) called for a learner pool to be included in the multi-million pound development at Dallamires Lane.

Though that call was rejected, the group continues to highlight the need for families in Ripon to have public facilities available that are close at hand and affordable.

At the February meeting of Ripon City Council, RPAG secretary Tim Tribe and Andrea McAuslan presented the case for a learner pool to be included in any future plans that the new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council, may have for the development of leisure facilities in the city.

Mr Tribe said:

“We recognise that there are currently serious pressures on public finances. We are not asking for a learner pool to be built now, but we want to ensure that the new unitary authority is properly briefed on this situation.

“Ripon is the only place of its size in North Yorkshire with no learner pool. Thirsk, Tadcaster, Northallerton, Stokesley and Skipton all have separate pools and we ask how far do you think our children should travel to learn such an important life skill, when we live in an area surrounded by water?”

Mr Tribe added:

“We carried out a survey using Survey Monkey and this showed that there are circa 1,000 children in Ripon in need of swimming lessons.”

Because of the lack of a public learner pool in Ripon, Andrea and Ian McAuslan have been taking their five-year-old twins to Thirsk.

Ms McAuslan said:

“We have been making the 22-mile round trip and are fortunate that we can afford to do this, but many other families are not so lucky.

“Seeing how our children reacted when they realised that they could go in the little pool at Thirsk was a real eye opener. It has been great to see their confidence grow as they learn to swim while they play in the shallow water.”

Ms McAuslan, who is also chair of the junior section of the Ripon-based NYP TriStars, triathlon club, added:

“Quite apart from the need to teach children to swim in a city that has three rivers, a canal and other areas of water, it is a skill that is fundamental to opening up other avenues for them.”

Police have urged Ripon residents to report all anti-social behaviour amid a rise in problems with youths in the city.

North Yorkshire Police has asked members of the public to ensure all concerns are reported via the force website or its non-emergency 101 number.

A spokesperson said:

“Our Ripon officers are aware of a small number of recent incidents involving youths acting in an anti-social manner.

“These incidents have been in the Aismunderby Road and Ambrose Road areas, and the area around the Jack Laugher Leisure Centre and nearby skate park.”

The force said it has been making enquiries and identified suspects in order for officers to take action.

In the meantime, it is calling for all incidents to be added to its log.

The spokesperson reminded people to call 999 in an emergency.

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Six months after Harrogate Borough Council announced plans to open a temporary gym at Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon, there is no confirmed date for its installation.

In a statement to the Stray Ferret, a council spokesperson said:

“To ensure residents can keep fit and active, while we carry out ground stabilisation works, a temporary gym is due to be installed at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon.

“We are awaiting the final programme for the ground stabilisation works before announcing further news on when the temporary gym will open.

“Until this time, customers can continue to (use) the existing gym at the leisure and wellness centre.

“We hope to have further news in the coming weeks.”

On July 28 last year, the council said it had submitted a planning application to install the temporary structure on the car park next to the centre’s main entrance and added that it would open in the autumn at a date to be confirmed.

In December a spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“I’m led to believe the temporary gym will not require planning permission now and we’ll be looking at installing the temporary gym in the new year (date TBC).

“Ahead of opening, we’ll be making all customers/members aware.”

Since the December statement, the Stray Ferret has contacted the council in a bid to find out when the gym will be installed and ready for use.

In the meantime, the existing gym on site located on the upper floor of the 1995 leisure centre building —  where remedial ground stabilisation works are due to take place at a cost of £3.5 million — remains open.

In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2022, we look at the ongoing saga over Ripon leisure centre, its delays and increasing costs.

The end is in sight for Harrogate Borough Council — but will decisions it made about building a new Ripon swimming pool and refurbishing the existing leisure centre at Dallamires Lane come back to haunt council tax payers after the authority’s abolition in April?

Money already spent on the project stands at £14.5 million and still to be added is £3.5 million for extra ground stabilisation on site and a further £300,000 for a temporary gym due to open in the New Year.

The contract awarded to construction company Willmott Dixon in November 2019 was for delivery of the new pool and refurbished centre in May 2021 at a cost of £10.2 million. But the need for ground stabilisation works ahead of the pool’s construction added to the cost and caused delays.

The subsequent discovery in September 2020 of a ‘void’ close to the leisure centre entrance led to an investigation by engineering consultancy Stantec which identified ground stability issues under the leisure centre and a requirement for extensive remediation works to keep the building in use.

Opening of the temporary gym will enable the 27-year-old centre building to be vacated while work is carried out to shore up its foundations, but HBC has indicated that the need for more funding may be identified when this is underway.

The Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, including a newly-constructed six lane swimming pool, opened in March – more than nine months behind the original schedule

A report to a meeting of council’s cabinet in August said the authority had made “every effort to provide an accurate estimate” of the costs of the remediation works but added these could rise further once the ground stability works begin.

Concerns raised by Ripon City Council

Ripon City Council raised concerns about the costs for the additional ground stabilisation and called for an end to the spending on the multi-million pound project and for HBC to fully investigate other options, including building a new leisure centre at a different location where ground conditions are stable.

At its full meeting in October, Independent city council leader Andrew Williams, said the works would take the total spending on the project at Dallamires Lane to £18 million – some £8 million above the original budget.

He added:

“They (HBC) can’t continue ploughing money into this site, with its known history of ground stability issues, including a sinkhole that opened up on the leisure centre car park in 2018.”

Response from Harrogate Borough Council

The call to search for an alternative location for the centre has been rejected by the borough council. A spokesperson for the council, said:

“Building a new leisure centre at another site in Ripon would cost a significant amount of money and would result in two separate facilities to maintain, two sets of running and staffing costs, for example.

“It would also involve purchasing land in a suitable location that we don’t currently have, going through the planning application process and disposing of the existing building safely, all of which would take time and a considerable amount of money. And there is no guarantee that a different site wouldn’t have similar ground conditions.

“Co-location of both wet and dry leisure facilities is also important for increasing and sustaining participation in exercise, as well as optimising revenue and cost recovery.

“The new gym combined with the pool on one site is proving to be extremely popular, and will be further complemented by two new activity studios, sports hall, a spin studio as well as meeting facilities.”

The spokesperson added:

“Our consulting engineer has advised that a do-nothing approach is not advised. And although there is no immediate change in the geological risk profile to the building – that was originally built in 1995 and has provided sport and leisure services for more than 25 years – it is recommended that ground stabilisation works are undertaken to ensure people in Ripon can keep fit and active for years to come.”

Read more:

• Ground remediation work at Ripon leisure centre to cost £3.5 million
• City council calls for an end to spending on Ripon leisure scheme

Swimming pools in the Harrogate district have received a national accreditation from Swim England.

The Water Wellbeing accreditation aims to transform community swimming pool into places for health, wellbeing and rehabilitation.

The award has been granted to Starbeck Baths, the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, Knaresborough Swimming Pool and Nidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre.

Brimhams Active, which runs the facilities, carried out changes to ensure all pools are accessible, inclusive and inviting to the local community in order to achieve the accreditation.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, said: 

“I’m delighted that through the hard work and dedication of the Brimhams Active team, with the support of Swim England, we have achieved Swim England’s Water Wellbeing accreditation at our facilities.

“Inactivity and the determinants of poor health adversely impact on thousands of people in our communities. Our mission is to help address this by supporting people to move more, live well and feel great, and to do this we are creating an inclusive, holistic, health and wellbeing focused service offer.”

Read more:

• Harrogate leisure chief defends Ripon pool location amid ground stability concern
• Harrogate swimming club seeks sponsor to keep head above water 

As part of the accreditation, exercise referral instructors have received training to deliver Swim England’s aquatic activity for health programme, which allows the team to deliver pool-based group exercise for people living with long term health conditions.

Meanwhile, swimming will be able to lead adult swimming lessons for people with health conditions, and all customer facing members of the team have had additional customer experience training, with a focus on inclusivity.

Andrew Power, Swim England’s water wellbeing specialist, said: 

“Swim England have been supporting Brimhams Active this past year across a number of key areas, in order to maximise the long term sustainability and growth of their aquatic assets.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the Brimhams Active team at all levels, who have shown total commitment to the accreditation process and have gone beyond what was expected of them in doing so.

“I look forward to seeing the impact of this work and benefits to the local community, particularly around improved health and wellbeing for years to come.”

A senior Harrogate councillor has defended building a new swimming pool in Ripon on the Dallamires Lane site in the city amid concerns over ground stability.

The Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, which includes the new pool, opened in January this year.

However, ground stabilisation works, which are set to cost Harrogate Borough Council £3.5 million, have delayed plans to open the gym and exercise studio on the site.

The work comes after underground voids were discovered beneath the older half of the site which was built in 1995.

At a meeting of the full council on Wednesday, Cllr Pauline McHardy, who represents Ripon minister ward, asked Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, whether he felt the pool should have been built elsewhere.

She said:

“When this council moves and we go under a unitary, we’re left with a swimming pool that is not stable and could be gone tomorrow.

“My question to you is don’t you think that, instead of spending all this money trying to bodge it up, it would have been find another site and built a completely new one that was suitable for Ripon and its future?”

Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at Harrogate Borough Council.

However, Cllr Lumley defended the decision to built the pool on the Dallamires Lane site and said the pool was “state of the art” and “way better” than the previous facility.

Cllr Lumley said:

“We decided to build there because it makes absolute sense to have the wet side and the dry side together under one roof, under one management and under one set of staff.

“That’s been proven at other sites around the district and that’s the model that we chose to go forward with as a council.”

He added that he could not agree with “accusations” over instability at the facility.

Temporary gym delayed

Stabilisation works at the site come as a £300,000 temporary gym planned for the centre has been delayed until the New Year.

The gym – which will be situated in the car park next to the main entrance – is due to be in place while work is carried out.

The need for ground stabilisation works follows the discovery of a void under part of the existing leisure centre understood to have been present for a number of years.

Read more:

• Delayed opening for temporary gym at Ripon leisure centre
• Ripon Leisure Centre ground works will cost £3.5 million

It was discovered when the reinforced concrete slab for the new swimming pool was cast.

The temporary gym will include equipment currently available in the existing leisure and wellness centre and expert advice and guidance will be provided by members of the Brimhams Active team.

Customers will be able to use the changing and shower facilities in the new pool area – as well as the sauna and steam suite – which opened in March and group exercise classes will also continue to be provided at Hugh Ripley Hall.

The opening of the proposed £300,000 temporary gym at Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon has been delayed until the New Year.

On July 28, Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) said it had submitted a planning application to install the temporary structure on the car park next to the centre’s main entrance and added that it would open in the autumn at a date to be confirmed.

Today, an HBC spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“I’m led to believe the temporary gym will not require planning permission now and we’ll be looking at installing the temporary gym in the new year (date TBC).

“Ahead of opening, we’ll be making all customers/members aware.”

In the meantime, the gym located on the upper floor of the existing 1995 leisure centre where remedial ground stabilisation works are due to take place at a cost of £3.5 million will remain open.

At the time of HBC’s announcement in July, Cllr Stanley Lumley, the council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at Brimhams Active which runs the centre, said:

“We remain committed to enabling people to enjoy physical activity.

“By providing a temporary gym, while the ground stabilisation works take place, we can minimise the disruption to current and potential customers and ensure they can continue to maintain their health and wellbeing goals.”

The need for ground stabilisation works follows the discovery of a void under part of the existing leisure centre understood to have been present for a number of years.

It was discovered when the reinforced concrete slab for the new swimming pool was cast.

The temporary gym will include equipment currently available in the existing leisure and wellness centre and expert advice and guidance will be provided by members of the Brimhams Active team.

Customers will be able to use the changing and shower facilities in the new pool area – as well as the sauna and steam suite – which opened in March and group exercise classes will also continue to be provided at Hugh Ripley Hall.