The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. The event will celebrate success and business excellence across the Harrogate district. It’s a night not to be missed! There’ll be a fabulous prize draw for all attending and Richard Flinton, the incoming Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, is guest speaker. You can purchase tickets here.

Masham-based brewery, T&R Theakston, has announced a trio of new hires.

Helen Barrett has joined as a national account executive, whilst Ben Parkinson and Hayley Dodds-Baddon have taken up the roles of sales development manager and Visitor Centre manager respectively.

Helen has previously worked for whisky-brand, Douglas Laing and Co. Her experience equips her to lead on projects in the spirits industry. Theakston’s has recently entered the market with its ‘Theakston Spirit of Old Peculiar’.

In the sales development manager role, Ben Parkinson will be responsible for expanding Theakston’s presence in North Yorkshire and Teeside.

Hayley Dodds-Baddon will work at the Theakston’s Visitor Centre, where she will draw on her skills as a qualified teacher, as well as her career in marketing.

Managing director Simon Theakston, said:

“In 2022 we sought to drive the business forward under difficult trading circumstances and as we move forward in 2023 with further growth plans, I’m delighted to welcome Helen, Ben and Hayley to our team.”

Read more:

• Business Breakfast: Harrogate environmental services firm makes consultancy acquisition
• Business Breakfast: Ripon engineering firm partners with The British Heart Foundation

 Strive Group boosts employee wellbeing

To promote employee welfare, Strive Group has partnered with Champion Health, a health and wellbeing solution provider.

The Harrogate-based experience and brand agency hopes to benefit from Champion Health’s data-driven approach to employee wellbeing. Its platform works by measuring things like stress-levels and possible low-moods, and offers personalised, targeted solutions.

Director of Strive Group, Alistair Grant, said:

“Partnering the Champion Health is one of our core initiatives to make Strive Group a place to work…

“By championing employee wellbeing, we will be able to retain and attract talent, which will not only benefit every individual but also the company”.

Long before ‘wellness’ became a buzzword, the Victorians were effectively already practising it.

And Harrogate led the way — even back then.

The wealthy and fashionable flocked to the spa town to experience its green open spaces and recuperative and healing powers of spring waters, which were first discovered by William Slingsby in the late 16th century.

Health and wellbeing hotspot

Now, more than a century after the Victorian era, Harrogate Borough Council’s new tourism body, Destination Harrogate, is set to promote the district as a health and wellbeing hotspot once again.

It will draw on the district’s rich spa heritage and accessibility to the great outdoors to attract visitors, events and investment to create a strong local economy.

The approach forms one of three key objectives in a three-year plan, which sets out a vision, priorities and actions that will be put in place to make the district “a first choice destination”.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, explained what this would involve.

She said:

“People have been coming to Harrogate since 1571 to take the waters and have a leisure experience, so that’s not new, but it has developed over the years.

“Now you can still go to the Royal Pump Room Museum and understand the spa heritage and our roots and how we became this great leisure destination, but you can also go to the Turkish Baths, you can go and have an incredible spa experience at Rudding Park or Grantley Hall.

“So the whole district is very good at that traditional health and wellbeing piece.”

Rudding Park Spa.

Wellbeing different for everyone

Ms Rio, who was appointed in October 2020, said one lesson that had been learnt as a result of the pandemic was that health and wellbeing is different to everyone.

She said:

“For some people it is a massage and a jacuzzi, but to others it’s a walk in the Nidderdale AONB, or it’s seeing a show at the theatre, or it’s just being with family around the table at one of our great independent restaurants. So that’s what we are going to try and pull out in our campaign.”

The multi-channel campaign, which will have a digital marketing focus, is being launched in April and will run for most of the year.

Ms Rio said:

“If someone is a really avid walker, we want to tell them that story and plan itineraries for them around walking and country pubs.

“Our supporting campaigns will also try and pick up the same messages.

“Every year Visit Harrogate ran a successful gardening campaign. Our partners loved that campaign, they have seen some great results from it.

“Obviously as a destination, gardening is a real strength of ours as well. We’ve got RHS Harlow Carr, Newby Hall and various places that have great gardens.

“So even our gardens campaign is going to try and link in with the health and wellbeing priority as well.”

RHS Garden Harlow Carr.

Read more:

• Harrogate tourism body makes health and wellbeing top priority
• Head appointed to lead new Harrogate district tourism body

Attracting business events

The focus on health and wellbeing will also be used to attract more leisure and business events, with one of the target sectors for conferences being the medical industry, Ms Rio explained.

She said:

“Where else to hold your medical conference than a destination that has this incredible spa heritage and medical story to tell?

“Where better to base you new health and wellbeing business, or really any business?

“If you want to invest in a place, knowing that you’re going to be somewhere where your employees health and wellbeing will be looked after. A place where their work/life balance will be stronger. It’s much easier to employ people to come and join you if you base yourself somewhere like the Harrogate district.

“It’s a really exciting campaign.”

Collaboration is key

Ms Rio said when the three-year blueprint, known as the Destination Management Plan (DMP), was written, a consultation with residents and businesses was carried out in order to come up with the three main priorities set out in the document.

She said:

“This theme came up over and over again and I think in many ways it’s a bit of a no-brainer. We’ve got the history, we’ve got a great story to tell.

“Health and wellbeing has rocketed as a trend over the past couple of years. Plus we already have strong products, like the Turkish Baths. So it’s not trying to promote something that we are not actually that good at.

“It’s not rocket science what we have come up with. But I think what we have not done as a destination is work together to really push that in the same way that a place like Bath does.

“The story has always been there but we haven’t really taken advantage of it in a way that we can now.

“Everyone is really keen to work with us to see this become a success, and I think as a destination that’s the only way it can work. That collaboration is absolutely key.”

‘Core part’ of district’s identity

Ms Rio said the health and wellbeing campaign will continue to evolve and grow as a “core part” of the district’s identity.

She said:

“Other campaigns will run alongside it to highlight other strands such as retail or arts and culture, but there will always be this golden thread running through it.

“A trip to Harrogate district is good for you, regardless of whether you are into massage, theatre or walking.”

Nidderdale AONB.

One of the main messages that will be promoted by the campaign will be length of stay, which will aim to encourage visitors to come for long weekends or weeks away in the district.

Ms Rio added:

“The way we do that is we try and prepare itineraries. So we are adding some functionality to the Visit Harrogate website this year that makes it easy for someone to say ‘I’m going to go to this experience in the morning, have lunch at this pub, stay at this hotel’. That helps to encourage people to stay longer, which benefits the local economy.”

Public leisure centres in the Harrogate district are experiencing their greatest investment ever.

Harrogate Borough Council is spending more than £40m on new pools in Ripon and Knaresborough and on a major refurbishment of The Hydro in Harrogate.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, oversees 250 staff responsible for delivering services at these sites as well as several others.

Brimhams is the council-owned company set up last year to promote health and wellbeing in the district.

It operates swimming pools in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Starbeck. All of these sites, except the magnificent old Starbeck Baths and the soon-to-be-rebuilt Knaresborough Pool, also have leisure or fitness centres.

Mark Tweedie with Jack Laugher at the opening of Ripon’s new facility.

Brimhams also oversees Fairfax Wellbeing and Community Hub in Harrogate, Jennyfield Styan Community Centre, a children’s nursery and the Harrogate Turkish Baths.

Mr Tweedie, 54, a former PE teacher with considerable experience of the leisure sector, was hired by the council in November 2020 to support the creation of Brimhams before transferring to his current role in July last year.

He says he was attracted by the council’s vision of using leisure to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the district, backed by its willingness to invest serious money to make it happen.

Difficult start

It hasn’t been an easy ride. There have been costly delays at the new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon due to sinkhole issues that long pre-date Mr Tweedie. A report due imminently will determine how much more work needs to be done before the site can fully open. He says:

“I’m absolutely confident it will be resolved. Yes, it’s been frustrating. I know customers have been desperate to come back since Spa Baths closed.”

There has been some discontent about the consultation and need for a new leisure centre in Knaresborough, where work is due to begin next month on a 65-week building programme due to finish in July next year.

How Knaresborough’s new pool will look.

Mr Tweedie says the transition from old to new site will be “seamless”, with the current facility operating until the new one opens — something that didn’t happen in Ripon, where the Spa Baths closed four months before the new pool opened due to delays.

Now there is the looming nine-month closure of The Hydro, which will leave Harrogate without a council-run pool.

Staffing has also been difficult — Brimhams has been consistently operating with 20 to 30 vacancies. Opening hours have been affected. Mr Tweedie says:

“It’s been a significant challenge, and it’s shared across the sector nationally.”

Read more:

• Ripon leisure centre named after local Olympic hero Jack Laugher
• £28m contracts for new Knaresborough pool and Harrogate Hydro upgrades approved
• Harrogate Hydro set to close for nine months

But there is little doubt that when all the projects are completed, the district’s facilities will be significantly better than they were pre-Brimhams. He says:

“We are through the worst and back on track and people in the Harrogate district and our staff have got a lot to look forward to.”

Aim to nearly double membership 

The aim is to increase total membership at the sites in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough to 5,000 within six months of the new facilities opening. Membership totalled about 3,000 at its pre-covid peak so it would be a considerable achievement but Mr Tweedie is “very confident” of achieving it. He says 400 people joined the Ripon centre in the fortnight after it opened.

How the refurbished Hydro will look.

Brimhams’s current monthly rate is £38.95. Customers at The Hydro are being offered a reduced rate of £32 to use the other sites while it is being refurbished. They will also be able to take part in group exercise sessions at the nearby Jennyfield Styan Community Centre.

Large private gym chains such as Pure Gym and Coach Gyms, which offer membership at about £20 a month, have extended their tentacles into the district, which can’t make life easy for council-run alternatives, but Mr Tweedie insists they are serving different markets.

“The private sector is dealing with the 15% that want to join a gym. The question is, what happens to the other 85%? How do we use public facilities to reach out to them?”

He talks about Brimhams taking “a more holistic approach” that leads to a “deeper and more purposeful relationship” with customers. People won’t come just to use the pool or gym, he says, but also to access a wider range of service that are being developed, such as mental health support, nutritional advice and mindfulness. It’s no coincidence that two Brimhams Active sites now include ‘wellbeing’ in their names — it’s clearly the way ahead.

A new software system, due to go live at the end of the month, will enable online booking and a “better digital relationship with customers”, as well as capturing footfall data that Brimhams can use to improve services.

Will it consider 24-hour opening, as many private gyms are? Mr Tweedie says:

“We have no plans for 24/7. We feel we can deal with our customer base between the hours of 6.30am and 10pm.”

Starbeck Baths

The scale of the council’s investment in leisure leads Mr Tweedie to say confidently there are no plans to reduce services or close Starbeck Baths, which is a constant threat to such an ageing facility. He adds:

“What the commercial approach is not about is reducing wages and staff and providing the bare bones of a service.”

All change next year

But his reassurances are tempered by the fact that Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished next year and control of Brimhams will transfer to the new North Yorkshire Council.

Brimhams staff will have a new employer from April 1 and, in time, a new strategy run by different managers.

Mr Tweedie, who lives in Morpeth and divides his time working from home and in the Harrogate district, says it could take at least a couple of years to implement whatever model the new council introduces so his role could exist for some time yet. He says:

“I want to deliver our three-year strategic plan and I am already working with other district leisure service leaders and North Yorkshire colleagues to manage the transition to the unitary authority.”

The important thing, he adds, is that customers don’t notice any sudden changes next year and that frontline staff, such as lifeguards and receptionists, are looked after. He says:

“It’s business as usual for us. We have a vision. We have a strategy. We have a plan we will deliver on that with a high level of tenacity.

Nidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre in Pateley Bridge.

A Harrogate mum has shared how her daughter overcame a brain tumour after being diagnosed aged two.

Marnie Downie-Keally, now seven, was diagnosed with a type of brain tumour called low-grade pilocytic astrocytoma in March 2017.

She underwent surgery to decompress cysts that were causing a build-up of pressure in her head, and also to do a biopsy.

In late 2018 after an MRI scan, Marnie began a course of chemotherapy that lasted 18 months.

Marnie having fun

March is Brain Tumour Awareness Month, which raises money for research to find a cure for brain tumours.

Sally Downie said:

“There had always been something that wasn’t quite right and we had been back and forth to the GP with various things from swollen gums to strange jerky movements, but it always got put down to a virus.

“Marnie had never been a great sleeper, waking every couple of hours and then towards diagnosis, she was waking saying her head hurt and being sick. Finally a CT scan was done and that was when we found out she had a brain tumour.”

Enjoying life

Marnie is now doing well after finishing her treatment in June 2020. She is back at school and enjoys playing sports including football, gymnastics, paddle boarding and swimming.

Ms Downie said:

“Marnie’s last six-monthly MRI scan in January showed all is stable, and the doctor was very pleased with her progress. If all is well at her next scan in July, Marnie will move to yearly scans.

“She’s really happy that, now that her portacath is out, if she gets a temperature she doesn’t have to go to hospital to be checked. She’s doing really well, and is really enjoying being at school. She’s doing lots of activities, including football, gymnastics, paddle boarding and swimming.”

Marnie enjoys paddle boarding.

Read more:

• Harrogate school offers ‘sound baths’ to boost wellbeing

• Robotic cats to provide comfort for North Yorkshire dementia patients

Vital support

Marnie and her family have been supported by Candlelights, a Leeds-based charity that works with child cancer patients and their families across Yorkshire.

Candlelighters supported Marnie and her family right from their stay at the hospital, providing them with practical support and entertainment on the wards, wellbeing therapies, trips out and a holiday, as well as financial support.

Ms Downie added:

“There are far too many things to list that Candlelighters have done for us since Marnie’s diagnosis and unless you are being supported by them I don’t think you can ever fully appreciate what they do.

“The support provided by Candlelighters has been amazing for our wellbeing. There’s always a friendly face offering a cup of tea and a chat as well as endless entertainment and support for the children.”

To donate to Candlelighters visit this page.

This article is sponsored by Kliniken. 

What is Lipoedema? 

Lipoedema is an abnormal buildup of fat, usually in the legs and affects up to 1 in 10 of all women. It cannot be helped by traditional weight loss techniques. Lipoedema can have a really negative impact on the patient’s life, both physically and mentally. 

Lipoedema is a progressive, chronic condition – which means it cannot be cured and gradually continues to worsen. The most extreme cases see large growths of nodular fat cause severe deformity around the thighs and knees. Kliniken is one of the leading clinics in the country helping people with this condition.

People with lipoedema can often feel frustrated, and can struggle with their body confidence. There is poor awareness of lipoedema amongst doctors and the general public, leaving patients feeling they are not doing enough to deal with the fat. 

Lipoedema Liposuction 

Because lipoedema cannot be cured, the fat itself needs to be managed through liposuction. 

The procedure can typically be performed in less than two hours, using either local anaesthetic and sedation or general anaesthetic.

At Kliniken, the patient will be seen by their surgeon for a consultation. The clinic also has a psychiatrist who is on hand to help with the emotional and mental effects that sufferers of lipoedema can experience. From consultation to post-operative care, the patient will see the same surgeon, receive a direct number for them for any questions or concerns and a full care plan to ensure they are healing from the inside out. 

What are the results? 

Susannah is one of Kliniken’s clients, and talks about her experiences with the procedure and how it has changed her life for the better:

“As a gym instructor I could never understand why I couldn’t lose weight on my thighs, and no matter what I ate, or how much I moved, the weight would not shift. Speaking with the Kliniken team and learning about Lipoedema was such a revelation, and knowing that there was something I could do to make myself feel better made all the difference.

The procedure itself was fantastic and Mallappa was extremely professional and put my mind to rest and was very understanding. The recovery was quick and for the first time in a long time I felt like myself again.”

How long does the surgery and recovery take? 

Kliniken’s clinic is situated in picturesque Bishop Thornton near Ripley. The setting is part of the therapy the clinic offers, and the rest and relaxation helps patients recuperate.

Patients can usually go home the same day, although in some cases an overnight stay may be necessary. 

Following lipoedema liposuction, there is an immediately noticeable reduction in the volume of the limbs. The skin takes around two weeks to heal, and the swelling should settle over a few months. 

It’s suggested that patients take two weeks off work. 

Who performs the procedure? 

Kliniken’s co-owner and consultant plastic surgeon, Mr Mallappa Kolar is the lead surgeon for lipoedema liposuction. He has nearly 20 years’ experience in cosmetic surgery, in addition to an MD and PhD in the use of fat cells. Mallappa has helped patients transform their lives with this surgery. Prices for the procedure start at £5,000. 

To find out more about the procedures offered at Kliniken, visit their website or call 01423 206 388

The managing director of Brimhams Active, which operates Harrogate Borough Council’s leisure centres, has defended the company’s stance on a proposed £8,000 price increase for one of its users.

This has, however, led to a clash with Ripon City Council leader, Andrew Williams.

Volunteer-run Ripon City Swimming Club (RCSC), which has been teaching children to swim for more than 100 years, said it had been priced out of using Ripon’s new swimming pool.

The club, which had previously held weekly sessions at now-closed Spa Baths at an annual cost of £4,500, told the Stray Ferret it was ‘mortified’ by a price hike to £12,500 per annum for use of the city’s newly-constructed facility, when it opens later this year,

Cllr Williams described the increase as ‘disgusting.’

This, in turn, prompted Brimhams Active managing director Mark Tweedie to contact the council leader by email, in which he said:

“For commercial, safety and quality assurance reasons we are mandated to be the sole provider of swimming lessons in the facilities we operate on behalf of the local authority.

“In this regard we have had numerous meetings and correspondence with RCSC over a significant period of time to try and come to an arrangement that would allow the club to continue to hire the pool with an adjusted offer that meets set standards and does not duplicate the Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme.”

Read more:

• Swimming club ‘mortified’after Harrogate council hikes fee for new pool
• Ripon council leader calls swimming club price hike ‘disgusting’

In the email exchange, which has been seen by the Stray Ferret, Mr Tweedie added:

“The Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme is accredited by Swim England (the governing body for swimming). It teaches swimmers how to be competent and confident in the water through a recognised quality assured framework.

“Young people joining the scheme have the added value benefit of free access to Brimhams Active operated pools during any general swim sessions providing more opportunities to develop their swimming and love for swimming.”

‘We need to operate commercially’

He added:

“We have offered to work with and directly support the club to enable them to adjust their offer so they can continue to help young people develop their swimming without duplicating the Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme.”

“Working with us to adjust their offer would enable the club to continue to hire the pool at the same rate they were previously paying. However, should the club want to maintain their current offer we have provided the option for them to hire the pool at a commercial rate recognising the club would be in effect competing with the Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme.

“The club would also need to adhere to the same rigorous safety and quality standards as Brimhams Active. The commercial rate is an exclusive rate offered to the club and is based on the true costs of hiring the facility.

“We need to operate commercially in order to cover the operating costs of the facility as well as generate vital funds for the local authority to continue to be able to provide efficient and effective public services.”

‘You need to rethink’

In his response to Mr Tweedie, Cllr Williams, said:

“You state ‘for commercial’ as your first words and that is exactly the problem, you are seeking to use your position to have a monopoly on the way in which children are taught to swim by using only your lessons.

“The Ripon (City) Swimming Club have taught many children how to swim and in a way which is affordable for many hard-pressed families.

“You conclude again with the need to operate commercially. Might I remind you that the land upon which the yet to be opened pool sits was gifted to the children of Ripon for recreational use not for the commercial benefit of a soon to be defunct local authority.

“You need to urgently rethink your approach on this matter.”

One thing Harrogate isn’t short of is independent coffee shops.

Once associated as a trendy hangout for hipsters, now the majority of the population are queuing up to get their caffeine fix – and it better be a decent flat white.

New venues on the scene include Swedish coffee house Fi:k, in the Montpellier Quarter, which has also recently opened a branch in Knaresborough, Cortado, on Leeds Road and Heal, also in the Montpellier. There is also Bamber & Brown, a barista bar at Birk Crag, where you can enjoy an artisan coffee in a tipi, and Constellation Coffee, which opened on East Parade last month. Another Swedish coffee shop, Nord, is also set to open on Otley Road.

But what is it about these coffee shops that everyone is going nuts for? And can the town handle the increasing number?

Opening its doors on Leeds Road in August last year, Cortado is one of the new kids on the block.

Meeting spot

Manager Erin Seelig said:

“We felt like the Leeds Road area was missing the market as most of them are directed towards town and this area really needed something.

“Coffee shops are now slowly starting to expand out into the neighbourhoods, which is great.

“It’s a hub and a meeting spot for a lot of people, especially in Harrogate.”

Erin said she believed each coffee shop in Harrogate had it’s own community and offered something slightly different, with Cortado focusing on takeaways to cater for an increase in the number of people who grab one and go for a stroll.

Find your niche

She said this was a habit that had been formed on the back of the lockdown daily walks.

“We see the same people – and their dogs – every day and for us it’s lovely to serve the community.

“For us we are trying to create our own identity. You have got to find your niche.

“If you look at the coffee shops in Harrogate, some focus on the cakes, some do brunch and they all attract different types of people.”

Manager Erin Seelig at Cortado on Leeds Road.

Erin said customers cared more about the different blends of coffee than ever before and often liked to know where the beans were roasted.

Affordable luxury

She said:

“It’s an affordable luxury and it’s a part of the day a lot of people look forward to as there is also the social element.

“I think there is plenty of room for new coffee shops as Harrogate has a big population of residents, as well as tourists. It’s always nice to have choice, and if one of them is full, you can pick another.

“All the independent coffee shops support each other as well. We get massive support from Bean and Bud, Hoxton North and No.35. They have been in here lots and we go to them. We can share ideas, which is really nice.”

• Home training, wearable tech and the great outdoors: Fitness trends for 2022
• Seasonal Affective disorder: Ripon therapist’s tips on how to survive the dark months

Matthew Edmonds and Oliver Highland Edmonds launched HealMedical and Wellness Spa around seven years ago and last month they added artisan coffee and gift shop to their business, which is based in the Montpellier Quarter.

Coffee and chat

Matthew said:

“The vision for the coffee shop is to enhance the wellness spa with a relaxing, calm space in which having a coffee and a chat becomes an integral part of your experience.

“The retail gifting area aims to highlight independent businesses who strive to give back, whether it be working with the learning difficulties community or supporting environmental causes. This sums up the ethos of Heal.”

Matthew Edmonds, owner of Heal.

Unique experience

Matthew agreed that all new coffee shops in Harrogate should bring the community a unique experience.

He added:

“This is what we are aiming to do at Heal by also stocking quirky gifts and cards that you don’t see everywhere.”

Heal’s coffee and gift shop in the Montpellier Quarter.

In this article, which is part of a series on the 15 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2021, we look at the shake-up of local leisure facilities – and ongoing concerns about safety at the new Ripon pool.

Throughout 2021, Harrogate Borough Council has spoken about its ‘multi-million pound investment’ in leisure developments across the district.

The council certainly has ambitious plans: it has built a new six-lane pool in Ripon, drawn up designs for a new leisure centre in Knaresborough and is also planning a two-storey extension to The Hydro in Harrogate.

It set up a new company, Brimhams Active, this year to run its health and wellbeing facilities.

However, the actual cost of delivering the entire package of projects remains unclear.

Ripon £4m over budget

The new Ripon facility, at Dallamires Lane, will be called the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, in honour of the local Olympic hero. It is scheduled to open next month.

A Freedom of Information request submitted to the council by Ripon resident and chartered civil engineer Stanley Mackintosh showed that it is currently more than £4 million over budget at £14,590,665.

The opening is now due to take place more than seven months later than originally planned. Ripon Spa Baths closed in November, leaving the city without a public swimming pool until the new site opens.

The council also still has to deal with ongoing ground stability concerns affecting the leisure centre adjacent to the Ripon pool.

Following the discovery of a ‘void’ near the entrance to the 26-year-old building, further investigation and remedial works will be carried out in the New Year. The centre’s ground floor will remain closed while the work takes place.

The discovery prompted two sinkhole experts to urge councillors to consider finding an alternative site for the new Ripon leisure centre and pool.

Their comments followed a report by engineering company Stantec, which revealed the site could be permanently plagued by the threat of sinkholes.

When asked about the cost of the remedial work, the council said:

“The costs for the investigation works are not as yet known. Following the investigation works, there will then be assessment of the proposed remediation strategies, together with an assessment of the estimated cost.

“The council would not be able to disclose details of costs until the agreed remedial works are contracted as we view that providing this information may prejudice future commercial negotiations with supply partners.”

The proposed new Knaresborough leisure centre.

New leisure centre in Knaresborough 

The council will consider its own planning application for a new leisure and wellness centre in Knaresborough in 2022, to replace the town’s existing leisure facility.

The proposed new centre will include a six-lane 25-metre pool, a learner pool with flume, sauna and steam room, fitness suite and studio, cafe, electric car charging points, bicycle storage and play area.

Construction could start as early as spring next year and last for 18 months.

Under the plans, the new building would be built on the playground to the rear of the existing pool, which would remain open during the work.

However, local resident David Hull, who launched the ‘Not On Fysche Field’ campaign has criticised the plans over the loss of the existing play park. The council has said it will create a new play park on the site.

Hydro changes

The council is proposing to demolish the current ‘drum’ entrance at The Hydro and replace it with a larger structure that includes a bigger café and reception area on the ground floor and a new 400-square metre fitness suite on the first floor.

Plans also include refurbishing the changing rooms and pool hall. Five electric vehicle charging points will be added.

The Stray Ferret asked the council how much the works will cost, but did not receive a response.

Those championing the schemes have been quick to hail the benefits.

It was cancelled last year because of covid, but tomorrow’s Boxing Day pilgrimage from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey is scheduled to go ahead.

The event, which regularly attracts upwards of 1,000 people, will follow the 9.30am Eucharist service for St Stephen’s Day.

At 10am, pilgrims will set off from the cathedral on the four-mile journey to Fountains Abbey.

Walking at a leisurely pace, they will retrace the steps of the 13 Benedictine monks who were the original founders of the abbey in 1132.

Read more:

• Ripon company wins £106,000 contract to resurface city car park
• Lottery funding boost for Ripon museums

At the abbey, a carol service will be led by the Dean of Ripon The Very Revd. John Dobson and cathedral clergy.

The pilgrimage between the two iconic heritage and religious sites has been held since 1976.

Sunday’s event will be the second pilgrimage of the year from the cathedral to the abbey.

In September, Ripon Together’s Yorkshire Pilgrimage was held as part of its Healthy Journeying campaign, which encourages people to walk in the Yorkshire countryside for physical and mental wellbeing.

Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) has said it is unable to reopen the Spa Baths while Ripon residents wait for the delayed opening of the new pool.

The reopening request came from Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, following Friday’s news from HBC that its multi-million pound scheme won’t be opening next week.

A fault found in the lining of the six-lane pool (pictured below) means that its opening will be delayed to an unspecified date in January.

In the meantime, Spa Baths, which was closed by HBC on 7 November, won’t be reopening as a stop-gap.

In response to an email that Cllr Williams sent to Councillor Stanley Lumley, HBC’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said:

“The swimming pool at Ripon Spa Baths is currently being emptied and the utilities that serve the pool have been turned off.

“We have also transferred staff from the baths to Ripon Leisure Centre for training at the new pool or to other facilities across the Harrogate district to ensure leisure provision can continue to be provided.

“Therefore, we are unable to re-open the Spa Baths, residents will be most welcome in the short term at one of our other district pools.”

Earlier this week HBC said the fault with the new pool is not related to sinkhole issues. Cllr Lumley, pointed out:

“Every large building project has snagging issues to resolve when nearing completion and this project is no different, it is very important we address any defects before opening so we can hand over this superb facility for the people of Ripon.”

Cllr Williams, told the Stray Ferret:

“Surely, it would have been sensible to have kept Spa Baths open until all necessary testing at the new pool had been carried out, but Ripon residents now have to wait until an unknown date when they can go swimming once more in the city.

“For many, having to travel to Harrogate, Pateley Bridge or Knaresborough for a swim is not a practical proposition.”

He added:

“We have had delays, alongside substantial increases in the cost of the project and there is still uncertainty about the opening date.”

Read more:

• EXCLUSIVE: Ripon leisure scheme racks up additional £1m cost
• Conservative councillor says Ripon leisure scheme is poor use of public money