It is now nine months since ground stabilisation work costing £3.5 million began at Ripon Leisure Centre, but North Yorkshire Council (NYC) remains unable to give an opening date for the refurbished building.

The original £10.2 million contract awarded in November 2019 by the now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council to construction company Willmott Dixon, was designed to give Ripon a new six-lane swimming pool attached to a fully revamped and equipped leisure centre building which opened in 1995.

Work began at the Camp Close site off Dallamires Lane in November 2019 and was scheduled to last 17 months.

Equipment used in ground stabilisation pictured at the site yesterday morning (Wednesday)

The total project also includes the provision of a new children’s playground and landscaping and restoration of playing fields that were donated in 1948 by Alderman Cyril Tetley Wade ‘for the benefit of the young people of the city.’

Rising costs

The running total for completion of the project has risen to £18 million and to date the pool at the Jack Laugher Leisure & Wellness Centre, which opened behind schedule in March 2022 and the playground that opened in February 2022, have been delivered.

A temporary gym has been in place on the car park in front of the Jack Laugher Leisure & Wellness Centre since last April. The children’s playground opened in February 2022

A year ago, a temporary gym costing £300,000 was installed on the centre car park and during the period that ground stabilisation works have remained ongoing, gym members have been attending spin classes at Hugh Ripley Hall.

During the four years since it was launched, the Stray Ferret has kept a close watch on the leisure scheme and has sought regular updates, initially from Harrogate Borough Council and from North Yorkshire Council since April 2023, when the unitary authority took over responsibility for the problematic project.

The questions we asked

On March 11 we asked the council the following six questions:

• What is holding up the work?
• Have additional issues arisen since NYC’s last update to the Stray Ferret in January
• Have additional costs been incurred (on top of the £3.5 million allocated for ground stabilisation?
• If yes, how much?
• Is there an opening date in prospect for the fully refurbished leisure centre building
• What progress has been made on the restoration of the children’s playing fields?

A reply received from a council spokesperson three days later said:

“We have nothing further to add to the last statement.”

In that statement, issued by the council on January 16, it said:

“The nature of the work is complex and is under constant review, dates will be announced to key partners when they are confirmed.

“Refurbishment work to the leisure centre began at the same time as the construction of the new swimming pool building, however it was paused when the extent of ground remediation work was identified. Refurbishment work will therefore be finished after completion of the ground stabilisation works.”

In October, the Stray Ferret reported that the leisure centre work had been temporarily paused after ground movement was detected in the 1995 building,

The North Yorkshire spokesperson said in the January statement that since October “no further issues have come to light”.

Working ‘within the confines of the existing budget’

On the question about potential additional costs for the delayed project, the NYC spokesperson stated:

“We continue to work within the confines of the existing budget.”

The Stray Ferret also asked about restoration of the children’s playing fields and football pitch, which have been no go areas for more than four years.

We were told:

“Seeding work will be carried out in advance of the opening date, but this will need to be given time to fully germinate and establish.”

Main image: As work continues on ground stabilisation, no opening date for the refurbished facility is available for North Yorkshire Council

Read more:

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North Yorkshire Council has confirmed Harrogate Hydro will not re-open until after the school summer holidays.

The Hydro is undergoing a £13.5 million refurbishment and will welcome customers back under the new name Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre.

With schools set to break-up today, many families would have been looking forward to using the swimming pool, which has now been closed for 15 months.

But the Stray Ferret revealed this week that was unlikely to happen.

Nic Harne, corporate director for community development at the council, has now confirmed:

“We had hoped that the Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre would be open in late August but, unfortunately, due to unplanned works being required, it will now be early September.

“Refurbishment projects often uncover historic issues that need to be resolved and this complex construction is no different.

The leisure centre in Jennyfields closed in April last year for what was supposed to be a nine-month refurbishment costing £11.9 million.

But January’s scheduled re-opening did not happen. In May, North Yorkshire Council said the cost of the scheme had risen to £13.5 million and customers would be welcomed back in August.

Now the scheme has been pushed back again but there was better luck for leisure centre users in Knaresborough, with news that the town’s new facility has not been further delayed.

Mr Harne said:

“The new Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre remains on-track to open in November.”

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Harrogate Hydro looks set to stay closed throughout the school summer holidays after another delay.

The Hydro closed in April last year for what was supposed to be a nine-month refurbishment costing £11.9 million.

But the scheduled re-opening in January this year did not happen and in its latest update in May, North Yorkshire Council said the cost of the scheme had risen to £13.5 million and customers would be welcomed back in August.

That suggested families would be able to use the swimming pool for at least some of the summer holidays, which start next week and end on September 4.

Brimhams Active, the council-controlled company that operates leisure centres, is now advertising the re-opening.

Its adverts say the Hydro, which will be renamed Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre, is now “anticipated to open early September 2023”.

The news will be a blow to families as the school holidays start next week.

The Stray Ferret asked the council if it could confirm the re-opening date and explain the reason for the latest delay. We also asked if the new £17.6 million Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre was still due to open in November.

A council spokesperson said it would provide an update after a site visit with contractors today.

Read more:

• Harrogate Hydro reopening delayed until summer
• New opening dates for Harrogate and Knaresborough leisure centres revealed

Starbeck Baths looks set to be closed over Christmas for heating repair work costing £29,000.

North Yorkshire Council has commissioned a contractor to upgrade the controls for heating both the pool and the building.

Leeds-based Westminster Controls Limited is set to carry out the work during a “planned shutdown” of the facility over Christmas this year.

Nic Harne, the council’s corporate director of community development, said:

“The contract is to upgrade the controls responsible for heating both the pool and the building.

“The replacement controls will provide significantly better automation and efficient control of the heating and ventilation systems.

“The work is due to be carried out during the planned shutdown of the pool over Christmas.”

Read more:

• Starbeck Baths to be closed until late May
• Memorial service for Starbeck pianist who ‘brought joy to the community’

The Stray Ferret has asked the council for the specific dates when the pool is planned to be closed but has not yet had a response.

It is due to be the second time this year the baths will shut for maintenance work.

The facility was closed for a month in April due to an “unforeseen mechanical failure”, which coincided with the Easter school holidays.

Brimhams Active, which was set up by Harrogate Borough Council but is now run by North Yorkshire Council, manages leisure facilities in the Harrogate district.

At the time, it said an an air leak in the pool plant equipment caused poor water clarity led to the closure.

The pool reopened on May 11.

Two major local leisure centre projects in Harrogate and Knaresborough have been delayed — and will cost more than expected.

The new North Yorkshire Council gave its first update on the refurbishment of Harrogate Hydro and the construction of Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre today.

It revealed the Hydro is now due to re-open in August following a £13.5 million refurbishment.

The facility, which will be renamed Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre, was originally due to re-open in January this year and the project was due to cost £11.8 million.

But it now won’t be open for the start of the summer holidays.

A council statement today said:

“It had been hoped the new facility would be ready to open earlier in the summer but a number of unanticipated issues with the building were found during the construction process.”

The new Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre is due to open in November at a cost of £17.6 million.

The project was initially due to re-open at the end of summer and cost £17 million.

The existing Knaresborough Pool was due to be demolished once the new facility was open.

But to keep construction costs as low as possible, the current pool will close and start to be demolished in early September following the opening of the Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre.

It means Knaresborough is likely to be without a pool for two months.

Hydro overhaul

Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre will include a 400 square metre fitness centre, a new sauna and steam suite, improved reception and café, as well an overhaul of the existing gym, spin, leisure and swimming facilities.

The diving structure is also being replaced.

Outside, the building is being remodelled to provide a reconfigured car park, bicycle storage and electric vehicle charging points.

The existing gas boilers have already been replaced with air-source heat pumps and 250 solar panels, as well as new metering and energy monitoring and control systems.

Read more:

• Cost of delayed Harrogate Hydro refurbishment increases by £1m
• £28m contracts for new Knaresborough pool and Harrogate Hydro upgrades approved

The energy efficiency measures were made possible by a £1.8 million grant from the government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy public sector decarbonisation scheme, and will halve the carbon footprint of the leisure centre.

The latest delay to the re-opening is to allow improvements to the fire protection of the steel frame, as well as the addition of new wall restraints, the replacement of corroded steelwork and fixing an issue that was causing an air leak and heat loss between the roof and the external walls.]

Today’s statement added:

“As a result of this additional work, the refurbishment project at Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre is now set to be completed by the end of July and will reopen in August, once staff from Brimhams Active have had a chance to familiarise themselves with the health and safety and operating procedures of the improved facility.

“Further details about the official opening will be announced in the coming months.”

Six-lane pool in Knaresborough

Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre, which is being built next to the current Knaresborough Pool, will include a six-lane 25-metre pool, activity pool with flume, sauna and steam room, fitness suite and studio, spin studio, café, electric car charging points and bicycle storage.

It will incorporate high-efficiency building materials, air source heat pumps and solar panels to reduce the carbon footprint.

Today’s update said:

“Unfortunately, due to an unavoidable delay involving the new electrical supply to the building, the leisure and wellness centre will now open in November.

Once the existing pool has been demolished, a new play area in front of the new Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre will be installed.

Cllr Simon Myers, the council’s executive member for culture, arts and housing, said:

“We want to ensure a healthier, more active population that is living longer and more independently. By investing in leisure facilities, such as this, we can continue to make that happen.

“Unfortunately, refurbishment projects often uncover historic issues that need to be resolved. But by carrying out the work now, the building can conform to the latest legislation, be as energy-efficient as possible and allow people to keep fit and active for many years to come.”