leisure services Archives - The Stray Ferret

Leisure centre prices set for shake-up in Harrogate districtHarrogate council company to run leisure centres in Selby

An arm’s-length company set up by Harrogate Borough Council will run Selby’s leisure services from September 2024.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive met yesterday to approve a report recommending Brimhams Active takes over Selby’s services, which include Selby Leisure Centre, Tadcaster Leisure Centre and Summit Indoor Activity.

The arrangement will be on an interim basis whilst the new North Yorkshire Council, which comes into existence in April, undertakes a £120,000 review of leisure services with the aim of creating a countywide model for delivering leisure and sport by 2027.

Selby District Council will not renew its contract with Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles, a charity that manages its leisure services.

Brimhams Active was launched by Harrogate Borough Council in August 2021 when it took over control of leisure centres and swimming pools in Harrogate, Starbeck, Ripon, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge.

Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre

Ripon’s new leisure centre is among the facilities already run by Brimhams Active.

Harrogate Borough Council hailed the move as a “new vision for the future” of services and said it would save around £400,000 a year through business rates relief and VAT benefits.

Ownership of the company and the contracts of staff will transfer to the new North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

Cllr Michael Harrison, the Conservative councillor for Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate as well as executive member for health and adult social care, told the meeting yesterday:

“The fact we can move management into Brimhams so seamlessly is an indication of the wider strength of all the counties coming together.

“We know we’ll do a review and due to the fact that Brimhams Active is relatively new but performing well, we can use strength of the joint councils to move things forward”.

The Brimhams Active board includes managing director Mark Tweedie, Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson, director of economy and culture Trevor Watson and councillors Sam Gibbs, Stan Lumley and Pat Marsh.

Of the seven soon-to-be abolished district and borough councils, Harrogate Borough Council is the only authority that uses an arm’s-length company to run services. Scarborough, Ryedale, Selby and Richmond outsource their services whereas Hambleton and Craven provide theirs in-house.

200 Harrogate council leisure staff set to transfer to new company

Union bosses have said they have received assurances there are “no plans” to change conditions for council staff after this week’s overhaul of leisure services in the Harrogate district.

Some 200 Harrogate Borough Council employees transferred to a new local authority controlled company called Brimham’s Active at the start of August.

Brimham’s Active will run the council’s 11 leisure venues, including The Hydro in Harrogate, Knaresborough Pool, Ripon Leisure Centre and Nidderdale Pool.

The move has raised employment concerns among those staff affected but Unison said all workers will maintain their current terms and conditions.

David Houlgate, secretary of Unison Harrogate local government branch, said the union will continue to monitor the situation after the company becomes active.

He said:

“We have been successful with our campaign and have received assurances that there are no plans to change existing terms and conditions following the transfer.

“We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure this position does not change.”

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said all leisure staff would transfer to Brimham’s Active under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, better known as TUPE, on August 1.

New leisure company

The council voted last year to create a new local authority controlled company to take over the running of its leisure facilities.

At the time, council officials said the move would save £400,000 a year and that the authority would have a majority of representatives on the new company’s board.

The company has since been incorporated and appointed seven directors. They include local councillors, council officers and Mark Tweedie, who has been appointed managing director of Brimham’s Active.

According to Companies House, Zoe Appleton-Metcalfe, Wallace Sampson, Samuel Gibbs, Stan Lumley, Trevor Watson and Pat Marsh have been appointed directors.

The council has also announced a £26 million investment in the Harrogate Hydro and a new leisure centre at Knaresborough, which was expected to be financed by borrowing from the government.

In June last year, Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for tourism and sport, said the new company and investment plan “came hand in hand” and would help the authority save money.

Ripon businessman ‘dismayed’ by council’s choice of contractor

A local businessman has criticised Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to choose a Somerset company to manage its investment in leisure services.

Jim Anderson, who runs Ripon metal recycling firm K A Anderson, said he was ‘utterly dismayed’ the council had not chosen a local company to handle the management of the project.

Mr Anderson said plenty of firms have had a hard time during the pandemic and it was wrong to award the contract to Somerset company Alliance Leisure.

Mr Anderson, whose business has been running for 40 years, said the contract should have gone to a local company.

He said:

“You see plenty of business struggling in Harrogate now.

“I just think there are lots of good local firms that could do the work. I think whatever the work, it should be given to them especially now.”

Alliance Leisure will be tasked with progressing schemes, which include a refurbishment of Harrogate Hydro and a new leisure centre in Knaresborough, until they are ready to be constructed.

The company, which was awarded the contract without a competitive tender process, will be responsible for project management and business planning.

The contract does not include construction and the council has said the vast majority of the investment will be given to companies “within the region throughout the construction supply chain”.

An e-mail seen by the Stray Ferret from Michael Constantine, head of operations at the council, defended the decision to appoint Alliance Leisure.

It said:

“We are proposing to use Alliance Leisure as they have readily available, procurement compliant, specialist experience which, despite the range of local businesses in the borough, is not easily identifiable at a more local level.

“Alliance Leisure have experience of working within region having recently assisted Hambleton District Council with a leisure redevelopment.”

The council borrowed £1.7 million for design and business cases for the scheme.

It is not known if this is the precise sum being paid to Alliance Services.

It comes as last week the council announced that its preferred site for the new leisure centre in Knaresborough was the existing leisure centre site on King James Road.

Senior councillors are expected to discuss the matter at a cabinet meeting next Wednesday (December 2).

Somerset company chosen to develop £26 million Harrogate leisure projects

Harrogate Borough Council has appointed Somerset company Alliance Leisure to develop plans to refurbish Harrogate Hydro and build a new leisure centre in Knaresborough.

The council formally chose Alliance Leisure yesterday as development manager for the £26 million projects.

The company was appointed directly, without a competitive tender process.

A council report said its selection procedure complied with EU procurement regulations and would “avoid the traditional more time-consuming procurement process for public organisations”.

Alliance Leisure will be tasked with progressing both schemes until they are ready to be constructed. From there, it will also be able to bid for the construction contract for the projects.

The council borrowed £1.7 million for design and business cases for the scheme.

It is not known if this is the precise sum being paid to Alliance Services.

Hambleton District Council also hired Alliance Services to help build Northallerton Leisure Centre.

Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for leisure, tourism and sport, approved the appointment.

The Stray Ferret asked the council why Alliance was chosen, why it was appointed without competitive tender and how long the process would take to get to construction. However, we had not received a response by the time of publication.

On Wednesday, the council announced that its preferred site for the new leisure centre in Knaresborough was the existing site on King James Road.

The existing swimming pool site in Knaresborough.

Residents had previously raised concern that the Grade II listed Conyngham Hall could have been chosen for the project.

A Hands Off Conyngham Hall Grounds petition by the Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats attracted more than 1,600 signatures.

But that option now seems to be off the table.

Ian Clark, Knaresborough Civic Society’s secretary, welcomed the decision. He told the Stray Ferret:

“This is good news for many people in Knaresborough. Conyngham Hall was not a suitable option for a leisure centre.

“It would not have done the historic building any favours if they built a new site right next to it and replaced park land with a car park.”

Final day for public survey on Harrogate’s leisure investment

Today is the final opportunity to take part in a survey on plans for a multi-million pound leisure services investment.

Harrogate Borough Council is giving residents the opportunity to give their views on the £26.5 million plans, which include a complete refurbishment of the Hydro in Harrogate and a new pool and leisure centre for Knaresborough.

Leisure services in the district will soon be under the control of an authority-owned company, Brimhams Active. Senior councillors previously said the new company and investment plans go “hand in hand”.

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council about the next steps for the plans following the consultation and for an update on the four proposed sites for Knaresborough’s new leisure centre.

A council spokesman said:

“Following the end of the leisure centre consultation, the results will be evaluated and used to inform the various options and subsequent recommendations for the multi-million pound investment in sport and leisure across the Harrogate district.”

The council is yet to narrow down the four proposed areas for Knaresborough’s new pool and leisure centre.

The plans for Knaresborough’s new leisure centre are yet to be confirmed. Four areas of the town are currently being investigated – including Conyngham Hall, Knaresborough House and an unspecified site at Hay-a-Park, as well as the existing location of Knaresborough Pool.

Development plans for Conyngham Hall have created opposition, with hundreds of people joining a Facebook page against the plans.

Harrogate Chief Exec and Leader criticised for not divulging key information ahead of major vote

The Chief Executive and Leader of Harrogate Borough Council had both been told that the council could be scrapped as part of the government’s wider devolution plans the day before a big vote on the shake up of leisure services – yet failed to make councillors aware of it.

Cllr Chris Aldred, chair of the overview and scrutiny board, told the Stray Ferret he and fellow councillors should have been told about the government’s position on devolution before they agreed to support the leisure project.

He and fellow councillors voted on July 8 to spend £300,000 on creating a new company called Brimhams Active to run leisure facilities in the Harrogate district. They also voted to borrow £26 million to invest in centres in the district.

But they had not been informed council leader Richard Cooper and chief executive Wallace Sampson, along with other local authority leaders had met local government minister Simon Clarke the previous day.

Mr Clarke told the leaders that any devolution bid would be dependent on a reduction in the number of councils, which could ultimately lead to HBC being replaced.

Cllr Aldred said councillors should have known about this when they made such a key financial decision.

But he said they were not told about the outcome of the Clarke meeting until late at night on July 9.

Cllr Aldred, a Liberal Democrat, told the Stray Ferret:

“Surely this should have been disclosed at that meeting and not revealed to councillors in a late night e-mail the day after that decision on the local authority control company was taken?

“Didn’t the 39 other councillors have the right to know this fundamental fact, prior to casting their vote that night?”

A spokesman for HBC said the two issues were entirely separate and it will take several years before services can be fully integrated once a local government structure is agreed.

The spokesman said:

“The reorganisation of local government in North Yorkshire and the creation of a new local authority controlled company to run sport and leisure services in the Harrogate district are two, entirely separate, issues.

“One is not dependent on the other.

“Once agreement has been reached on a future structure for local government for the county, it will take several years before services are fully integrated and teams brought together.

“That’s why we are continuing with projects and initiatives such as the redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre, the leisure investment strategy and creating Brimhams Active as our local authority controlled company.

“Operating our sport and leisure services through a local authority controlled company will save money in the long run and enable us to support our critical council services.”

Brimhams Active, a local authority controlled company, will run 11 leisure facilities in the district.

HBC is proceeding with several costly projects despite uncertainty over its future.

It is spending £1 million on consultants to draw up plans for a £47 million renovation of Harrogate Convention Centre.

But the decision to reduce the number of councils across the county as part of the government’s devolution agenda has thrown the future of public services into uncertainty.

Both district and county leaders are expected to propose different models to ministers this month.

It could see the seven district councils, including Harrogate, scrapped and replaced by one or two super-authorities.

District officials are already consulting with residents and have proposed that an east/west council organisation should replace the current structure.

Hundreds back campaign against leisure centre at Conyngham Hall

Hundreds of local residents have joined a Facebook group to campaign against Conyngham Hall being used as the site for Knaresborough’s new leisure centre.

The campaigners support Harrogate Borough Council’s plans to build a new swimming pool and gym in the town but would prefer to see the current leisure centre site on King James Road redeveloped.

Conyngham Hall is one of four proposed options for development. The current leisure centre site, Hay-a-Park and Knaresborough House are also under consideration.

Almost 600 people have joined a ‘Hands off Conyngham Hall’ Facebook page. Local resident Craig Arditto set up the page to share information and demonstrate to the council the strength of feeling against developing the historic hall.

He said:

“I didn’t expect it to grow as it has. Our aim is to protect Conyngham Hall from development, it’s an open space and brings in a lot of tourism. I think it would be a waste of the space if it was developed. I agree Knaresborough needs the facilities as a growing town and I am very supportive of the leisure centre plans but a redevelopment of the current site works better.

“The hall is outlined in plans which offer four options in Knaresborough. No site has been confirmed but ideally we want this site taken off the table.”

Campaigners want to protect Conyngham Hall’s green spaces.

The hall is currently used as office space but its grounds are popular for leisure activities.

Hannah Gostlow, Knaresborough town councillor, said:

“I, along with many other residents in our town very much welcome the proposal of a new leisure centre for Knaresborough. However, I object to the proposal of building on this green space. I feel it would spoil the Conyngham Hall grounds and put too much pressure on already congested roads. I would prefer to see a new leisure centre developed on the footprint of the existing site.”

Harrogate Borough Council this month approved plans to overhaul its leisure centres by handing control to a new council-owned company called Brimham Active.

A council spokesman said:

“We are just at the start of the process to build a new combined leisure centre for Knaresborough following the decision to invest more than £26 million improving leisure facilities in Harrogate and Knaresborough. No decision has been taken on where the new leisure centre in Knaresborough would be, or what activities it would be offering.”

Council gives final backing to leisure services overhaul

Harrogate Borough Council’s full council has backed an overhaul of leisure services in the district by handing control of facilities over to a new company.

Councillors voted through the proposal at a meeting last night which will see the authority spend £300,000 on start up costs for the authority-owned company called Brimham’s Active.

Opposition Liberal Democrat councillors tabled an amendment for affordable pricing, accountability and workers rights, which was also backed.

The new company will see 11 facilities in the district handed over to the company, including the Harrogate Hydro and the new Ripon Leisure Centre.

Council officials have said the decision to hand over the leisure facilities to Brimham’s Active will save £400,000 a year and that the authority will have a majority on its board.

It follows a council consultation which saw nearly half of respondents disagree with the move and residents in Starbeck vowing to fight any future threat to the area’s 150-year-old baths.

The existing Knaresborough Pool could be replaced with a new leisure centre, either on the same site or somewhere else

Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said she backed the new company but raised concern over a lack of consultation.

She said:

“Many have felt that they have not had an opportunity to have their say on their facilities.

“We have not been involved in the final draft until now. Lots of seminars and overview and scrutiny, but no involvement.

“Therefore all we could do is vote for, against or vote for an amendment on the recommendations made by cabinet.”

But Stan Lumley, cabinet member for culture, media and sport, said he had insisted that people were kept informed on the new company,

He said:

“This is the culmination of almost three years work.

“I am quite dismayed that people can say that they have not been involved or informed. We have had several opportunities to discuss this and comment on what we planned to do.

“Right at the outset, almost three years ago, I insisted that officers not only kept members informed but also that borough council employees were kept informed along this journey.

“We have consulted and we have taken notice of that consultation.”

The borough council is also expected to borrow £26 million to invest in new facilities, such as a new Knaresborough leisure centre, which senior councillors said go “hand in hand” with the new company.

Leisure services in the district currently run at a loss of £3.5 million a year and some facilities have increased in cost year on year.

The council will spend £300,000 to set up the company through project start up costs and it is expected to operate from August 2021.

Lib Dems criticise ‘abysmal’ communication over leisure company

Harrogate Liberal Democrats have criticised an “abysmal lack of communication” from the borough council on its decision to overhaul leisure services in the district.

Councillors on the opposition group said concerns raised about the shakeup “fell on deaf ears” and added that many were left unaware of the consultation.

The criticism comes after senior councillors last night voted to set up a new company, called Brimham’s Active, to run facilities such as the Harrogate Hydro, Ripon Leisure Centre and Nidderdale Leisure Centre.

Liberal Democrat councillors have set “red lines” for the company, including transparency, affordable prices and investing profits back into leisure.

The group has also called for Starbeck Baths to be protected. Council leader, Richard Cooper, has vowed not to close the facility while he was in post.

Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said the communication from the authority gave her “no reassurance that this will be transparent and accountable”. She said:

“If this is to go ahead it must be done with very little day-to-day difference within the service.

“It must be about delivering a quality service, not a profit-hungry corporation. It must remain affordable, with prices not increasing beyond inflation. It must guarantee the protection of services, especially Starbeck Baths.

“It must be transparent and accountable, with major decisions being made by full council. Current workers must be protected and new staff must receive the same pay and conditions.”

The council said it will save around £400,000 a year on leisure and sport, which last year was estimated to have cost taxpayers £3.5 million.

Council officials will also borrow £26 million from the government’s Public Works Loans Board to fund an investment strategy into the Harrogate Hydro and a new leisure centre in Knaresborough.

The new company is expected to be operating by August 2021 and will cost the council £300,000 to set up.

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment.

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