An opening date for Ripon’s new swimming pool has still to be announced.
Harrogate Borough Council said on November 26 that the planned opening on December 8 had been postponed to an unspecified date in January. The delay was attributed to a fault in the lining of the pool.
In mid-December, when the council announced the multi-million pound leisure protect would be named the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, in honour of the Olympic diving hero and former Ripon Grammar School student, the council said the pool would be opening “early in the new year”.
But with less than two weeks of January remaining, no opening date has been revealed.
A council spokesman told the Stray Ferret it “should have further news in the coming days”.
Ripon has been without a public swimming pool for more than two months since Spa Baths closed on November 7.
The new pool and leisure centre has been beset by historic issues of ground stability that affect the Camp Close site at Dallamires Lane. It was originally due to be completed in May 2021 and cost £10.2 million, but it is currently eight months overdue and £4 million over budget.
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Conservative councillor Stanley Lumley, the council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at Brimhams Active, which operates the district’s leisure centres, said at the time the fault was found:
“New swimming pools go through a significant amount of testing to ensure they are safe to use for years to come and provide the best experience for the customer.
“During the testing period of the new six-lane 25metre swimming pool at the leisure centre on Dallamires Road in Ripon, an issue was identified with the lining of the pool.
“We understand this is disappointing but would like to reassure you we are working as quickly and as thoroughly as possible to open the pool as soon as we can.”
