Plans have been submitted to create a new, modern outdoor learning facility at Bewerley Park, near Pateley Bridge.

The proposals include two new accommodation blocks, a changing and wet suit drying room, and a central ‘hub’ space.

Each accommodation block would include 12 en-suite dormitories – seven with six beds and five with eight beds – and eight single rooms for staff.

The two-storey ‘hub’ would have space for lessons, dining, games and indoor sports, as well as a reception and kitchen facilities.

The new, larger buildings would be built in the same part of the site as the current smaller dormitories and would be centred around a courtyard. The project would be completed in phases, with the first accommodation block built before the old rooms are demolished.

The proposed new buildings at Bewerley Park

In a supporting statement, North Yorkshire County Council‘s agent, Align Property Partners, said:

“Simply, the design and layout of the current buildings do not meet the demands and function requirements of a modern outdoor education centre.

“The size and layout of the existing dormitories are inflexible in terms of varying occupancy and limit the potential use of the centre. For this reason, a new dormitory block is proposed in the first phase.”

As well as catering for schools and other groups, the plan references including facilities for campers, with a shower and toilet block. This, it says, forms part of the business plan: NYCC has emphasised the need for Bewerley Park to be sustainable without relying on funding from the taxpayer.

The residential centre had faced an uncertain future last year when owners North Yorkshire County Council said it was running at significant loss and its accommodation was not up to scratch.

However, after extensive support from schools and individuals, the county council decided to invest in the site for future use.

Full details of the planning application can be found here. Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision about the proposal on a date to be confirmed.

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Bewerley Park, the outdoor residential learning site used by generations of Harrogate district students, has been saved from the axe.

North Yorkshire County Council announced last year it would review the future of the site, which was built in the 1940s and consists mainly of wooden huts.

A consultation revealed overwhelming support to maintain the facility and next week the council’s executive will be recommended to approve funding for redevelopment.

However, there is a proviso that the service will be able to operate sustainably in the future and without any subsidy from council taxpayers.

The council is recommending an initial £400,000 be spent drawing up a business case to bring Bewerley Park up to modern-day standards and allow it to work in a more commercial manner.

Cllr Stanley Lumley, member for Pateley Bridge division, welcomed the news. He added:

“Bewerley Park is a much-loved facility. I was overwhelmed with the concern from the local community and beyond when it was announced the centre was under review.

“I strongly believe the outdoor learning service is essential for young people’s physical and mental wellbeing, especially after the crisis in wellbeing among young people during lockdown.

“It has been a rite of passage in North Yorkshire for many generations. The service has to go forward on a business-like, sustainable footing, but we are moving forward on a positive footing.”

Benefits to young people

The council review into the outdoor learning service began in February gathered feedback from hundreds of adults, children and schools.

It also included the East Barnaby site, near Whitby, which along with Bewerley Park was closed due to covid. They have since reopened.

The review concluded the outdoor learning service contributed to young people leading “lifelong healthy lifestyles with improved social, emotional and mental health and resilience and reduced health inequalities”.

Those taking part in the review said the service helped children and young people improve wellbeing and life skill. A total of 81 per cent said it helped participants learn to manage risk and 78 per cent said it helped with emotional skills.

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The review also concluded the design and layout of the current buildings were found to not meet the demands of a modern outdoor education centre and the large dormitories limited the number of groups that can use the centre at any one time.

The review, which aims to increase bookings, recommended only minor improvements to facilities at the council’s other outdoor site in East Barnby.

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

“If the proposals are approved later this month, then the service has been given the opportunity to thrive, but it must be commercially viable and be more financially independent if it secures the investment needed to bring facilities up to standard.

“Generations of people of all ages have fond memories of school trips where they took part in outdoor adventures and tried many activities for the first time, from caving to gorge-walking and canoeing.

“But its future is dependent on it being used.”

Cllr Mulligan urged schools, charities and other groups to use the sites, which are open year-round,

If the investment is agreed, then we still need to secure the future of the service by making sure it is well-used, year round, so that generations to come can continue to create memories of a lifetime in the North Yorkshire countryside.”

Further details are available here.

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.

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.”