Harrogate Borough Council has said it has “no plans” to sell Starbeck Baths after the Hydro is refurbished and the new Knaresborough Leisure Centre is built.

The council is currently carrying out an £11 million refurbishment of Harrogate Hydro and building a new £17 million leisure centre in Knaresborough.

The move has led to speculation on social media the authority will sell the Victorian baths in Starbeck after the projects are finished.

However, Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at the council, said there were no plans to offload the facility.

He said:

“I can confirm Harrogate Borough Council has no plan or intention to close or dispose of Starbeck pool, and our investment strategy building the new pool and wellness centres in Ripon and in Knaresborough and the extension and refurbishments at the Hydro is not reliant on closure of any site managed by Brimhams Active.”

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The facility is one of 10 centres run by the council-owned leisure company, Brimham’s Active.

The council has earmarked an opening date of May 2023 for the Harrogate Hydro.

It would be a month after the council is abolished and replaced by North Yorkshire Council.

Work on the Hydro, which is being led by Bristol-based Alliance Leisure, is ongoing to create a 400 square metre fitness suite, a sauna and steam suite, improved reception and café.

There will also be new diving board equipment, a new fitness suite and the changing areas will be upgraded.

Meanwhile, the new leisure centre in Knaresborough is due to open in August 2023.

Construction is continuing on the project which will see 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 created.

Harrogate District Swimming Club is appealing for help from businesses to help it sustain its recent stellar run of successes in the pool. 

Swimmers at the club have won armfuls of medals, and even broken a world record at competitions over the last couple of weeks. But club officials are keen to find a corporate sponsor to help it recoup the loss of thousands of pounds over the last three years. 

Normally, the club would hold three weekend-long swimming galas a year at Harrogate Hydro and bank the profits, but the covid pandemic and the closure of the Hydro for its £11.8m refurbishment has seen that source of income all but dry up. 

Team manager and communications officer Brian Charlton said:

“We’ve only been able to hold one gala in the last three years. So we’ve lost eight out of the nine galas we would have held, and about £2,000 each time. That’s a huge amount to make up. 

“We’ve approached several of Harrogate’s larger companies, but with no luck so far. Hopefully we’ll be able to hold a gala in 2023, but until then we’d really like to find a sponsor to help us out.” 

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Gold rush in Sheffield

The world record-breaking female 4x200m front crawl 200-239 yrs team: Julie Hoyle, Jo Beardsworth, Karen Graham and Fiona Cryan.

Swimmers from HDSC recently competed with 1,000 others from across the country at the annual Swim England Senior/Masters National Championships in Sheffield, coming away with 14 gold medals, five silvers and three bronze, as well as four European/British records and even a world record for the ladies 4x200m front crawl 200-239 years team. 

Younger swimmers were also in action at the second short course County Championships, also known as the ‘Yorkshires’. Overall, they achieved 34 top-ten finishes, including eight gold medals, four silvers and one bronze. 

Harrogate Hydro looks set to reopen in May next year following an £11 million refurbishment.

Construction is earmarked to finish in April, but Harrogate Borough Council has set an opening for May — a month after when the authority will be abolished.

The council provided an update today on the Hydro as well as progress on the new leisure centre in Knaresborough.

Work on the Hydro, which is being led by Bristol-based Alliance Leisure, is ongoing to create a 400 square metre fitness suite, a sauna and steam suite, improved reception and café.

There will also be new diving board equipment, a new fitness suite and the changing areas will be upgraded.

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

Representatives from Axiom, Alliance Leisure and ISG with Councillor Stanley Lumley and Mark Tweedie.

However, the strip out at the facilities has revealed some remedial work is required, such as the fire protection of the steel frame, the addition of wall restraints, replacement of corroded steelwork, re-securing of soffit boarding and resolving air leakage and heat loss between the roof and the external walls.

Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at the council, said: 

“Refurbishment projects often discover things that need to be resolved to adhere to current building regulations.

“By carrying out the work now, the building can conform to the latest legislation and be as energy-efficient as possible, which will allow people across the Harrogate district to keep fit and active for many years to come.”

Knaresborough Leisure Centre

Work being carried out on Knaresborough leisure centre.

The new leisure centre in Knaresborough is due to open in August 2023.

Construction is continuing on the project which will see a six-lane 25metre pool, activity pool with flume, sauna and steam room, fitness suite and studio, spin studio, café, electric car charging points and bicycle storage created.

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Both facilities are due to be managed by the council-controlled Brimhams Active once complete, although its future is unclear due to the impending abolition of Harrogate Borough Council.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, said: 

“This unprecedented level of investment from Harrogate Borough Council will allow Brimhams Active to further transform from a conventional leisure provider to a comprehensive health and wellbeing company and truly maximise its offer to residents across the Harrogate district.

“And by doing so we can ensure people of all ages, from all walks of life, will be able to live a healthy lifestyle and stay active for longer.”

Works are well underway on two major projects to renovate Harrogate Hydro and build a new leisure centre in Knaresborough.

The projects will cost around £28 million in total and are being run by Harrogate Borough Council with construction works carried out by Bristol-based firm Alliance Leisure.

Harrogate Hydro shut to the public in April and has now been stripped out and partly demolished as part of a £11.8 million investment.

The works include the construction of a two-storey extension, as well as a new entrance, cafe, reception area, diving board structure, fitness suite and refurbished changing rooms.

David Hawcroft, project manager at Harrogate Borough Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the strip out of the building had revealed the need for some extra works, although this was “to be expected” for a project of this size.

Work on Harrogate’s Hydro.

The extra works required include the replacement of corroded steelwork and improvements to the fire protection of the steel frame.

It is anticipated that the project will be completed by next April, with reopening the following month.

Once complete, the Hydro will no longer use gas and will run completely on electricity with the use of air source heat pumps and 420 solar panels.

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Meanwhile, foundations have been set at Fysche Field in Knaresborough in preparation for the steel structure of the new £17 million leisure centre which will have a six-lane swimming pool, health spa and fitness studios.

It is being built behind the existing Knaresborough Pool which will be demolished.

The council previously said it aims to complete the new leisure centre next July, before demolishing the old pool by the following October.

Solar panels on the Harrogate Hydro.

The project was approved earlier this year despite concerns over the environmental impact of demolishing a large building to replace it with another.

Jonathan Dunk, chief development officer at the council, previously described the 30-year-old Knaresborough Pool as “at the end of its working life” and argued more swimming and exercise space was needed for the town’s growing population.

In Ripon, the city’s new swimming pool at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre has been open for six months and resulted in a big uplift in membership numbers.

Work being carried out on Knaresborough leisure centre.

However, the ongoing refurbishment of the older half of the venue has been plagued with issues caused by underground voids found at the site.

The council’s cabinet recently approved remedial groundworks which will cost £3.5 million and push the total costs of the entire project above £18 million.

The original contract awarded to construction company Willmott Dixon was worth £10.2 million for the project which was originally due for completion in May 2021.

Two major projects to renovate Harrogate Hydro and build a new leisure centre in Knaresborough will get underway next month.

Harrogate Borough Council is behind the plans which will cost around £28 million and see the construction works carried out by Bristol-based firm Alliance Leisure.

The Hydro will get an £11.8 million investment, including a two-storey extension of the building, as well as a new entrance, cafe and reception area.

There will also be a new diving board structure, fitness suite and refurbished changing areas.

The venue will close on April 8 and the project will be phased to allow for the pool hall area to be brought back into use “as soon as possible in early 2023,” the council said.

It also said it anticipated all of the works will be completed by April 2023.

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Meanwhile, some grounds works are already underway at Fysche Field in Knaresborough where a new £17 million leisure centre complete with a six-lane pool, health spa and fitness studios will be built as a replacement for the existing Knaresborough Pool.

It will be built behind the existing pool which will remain open during the works before being demolished.

The council said the new leisure centre will take 65 weeks to build with completion in July 2023.

After this, the demolition works will take a further 15 weeks with completion in October 2023.

Proposals for the Knaresborough Leisure Centre.

These proposals were approved last month despite concerns over the environmental impact of demolishing a large building to replace it with another.

However, Jonathan Dunk, chief development officer at the council, described the 30-year-old Knaresborough Pool as “at the end of its working life” and said more swimming space was needed for the town’s growing population.

He previously said: 

“We need to renew rather than refurbish the existing facility because it is old and there is inadequate water space.

“We also want to upgrade to make the most of the energy performance of the new building.”

In Ripon, the opening of the city’s new multi-million pound swimming pool was finally celebrated on 2 March after months of costly delays.

The project was nine months overdue and £4 million over budget, and refurbishment works on the adjoining Ripon Leisure Centre are still underway after the discovery of an underground void prompted the need for an investigation.

The investigation by engineering firm Stantec was due to finish earlier this month and a report setting out what reinforcement works will be required will now follow.

Stantec previously suggested there had been a “significant deterioration” of the ground beneath the older half of the leisure centre and that strengthening works could include steelworks, thickened floors and grouting – the same method “successfully” used to stabilise the new pool.

Harrogate District Diving Club has said the looming nine-month closure of Harrogate Hydro will be worth the short-term disruption.

The club, which has more than 50 members and helped produce Olympic champion Jack Laugher, faces the prospect of not being able to return to its home pool until next year. The Hydro is due to close for major refurbishment on April 8.

Some divers will train at other venues, including Shipley diving pool. Others will stop training altogether until the Hydro reopens. Since the announcement of the Hydro’s closure two divers have left the club.

Divers can also use Jennyfield Styan Community Centre for dry land sessions using a full size diving board. These sessions allow divers to dive off the board onto a crash mat.

Harrogate Hydro, Jennyfield Drive.

The diving boards have not been in use since November 2020 due to structural problems.

The renovation work will include new diving facilities at the same heights as before. Club chair Leanne Jalland said:

“We welcome the closure and renovations, whilst it is not ideal to be away from the pool in the short-term. The current diving facilities were at the end of their life and needed to be replaced.

“A little short-term disruption without a pool while the new diving facilities are being rebuilt is worth it because the new facilities secure the future of diving in Harrogate for a few more decades.”

Ms Jalland added the club had been preparing for a loss in funds due to the work and had secured funding from Sport England to fund hiring space at other diving venues.

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She said:

“We are passionate about introducing more children in our community to diving and while the Hydro is closed that will not stop. Considering that during the start of the pandemic we only had a dozen divers left, we’ve managed to grow the club considerably during a difficult time period with limited facilities and resources.

“So imagine what we can do with our new facility. We can’t wait for next year, the future is looking bright for our club.”

The £11.8 million refurbishment will give the Hydro a new two-storey extension, entrance, cafe and reception area.

There will also be a new fitness suite and the changing areas will be upgraded.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, which Harrogate Borough Council set up last year to run its leisure facilities, said the plan was to reopen the pool first in nine months time.

More than half a million pounds in carbon reduction cash is to be spent on Harrogate Hydro instead of Harrogate Convention Centre.

The £583,000 was awarded to Harrogate Borough Council for upgraded lighting and air handling units at the convention centre, but the council has now said it won’t be able to complete the works before a funding deadline in June.

The money from the government’s decarbonisation scheme will instead be used for air source heat pumps and solar panels at the Hydro swimming pool.

A council spokesperson said:

“The money has been transferred as owing to market conditions, we cannot deliver the convention centre project within the grant timescales.”

The funding switch comes as the council is pushing ahead with plans for a major redevelopment of the convention centre, with upgrades at the venue’s studio two being made a priority.

These studio two works could start in October after a warning that the venue could miss out on up to £14.9million through cancelled events.

Overall, the full redevelopment plans could cost up to £47million if approved by councillors. The proposals include three exhibition halls being demolished to make way for a new 5,000 square metre hall and a refurbished auditorium.

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Under separate plans, 1,077 solar panels will be installed at the convention centre in a move which the council said will save 24 tonnes of Co2 each year.

A further 420 solar panels will also be installed at the Hydro swimming pool. The council said these could reduce the venue’s annual Co2 emissions by 577 tonnes.

The Hydro is also in line for a major redevelopment which will cost £11.8million and get underway next month. These plans include a two-storey extension of the building, as well as a new entrance, cafe and reception area.

There will also be a new diving board structure, fitness suite and refurbished changing areas which could all be completed by April 2023.

Harrogate Borough Council looks set to award two contracts worth a total of £28 million to a Bristol company to build a new leisure centre in Knaresborough and refurbish Harrogate Hydro.

Senior councillors will be recommended next week to directly appoint Alliance Leisure to construct the projects as part of its leisure strategy and to proceed with construction work.

The Hydro contract is worth £11 million; the Knaresborough scheme is valued at £17 million.

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

It added that process is “fully compliant” with the UK Leisure Framework, which allows for the direct appointment of a partner (Alliance Leisure) for scoping, design, refurbishment, construction and development of leisure centres. The framework is available to UK public sector organisations.

Alliance Leisure was awarded a £2 million contract by the council to draw up plans for both schemes in November 2020.

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Major changes

The council, which will be abolished next year, is to build a two-storey extension on the Hydro and construct a new leisure centre, which includes a six-lane pool and exercise studio, at Knaresborough.

A report due before the council’s cabinet on Wednesday said the Knaresborough centre has the potential to be “entirely self-financing”.

It said:

“The 2019 review into the delivery of sport and leisure highlighted the opportunity to invest in the facilities which deliver for residents and visitors of the east of district/Knaresborough.

“The initial development of the scheme indicates that it has the potential to be entirely self-financing or that it could provide additional revenue cost reductions with the allocation of council capital, capital receipts from disposals or external grant.”

Designs for Knaresborough Leisure Centre.

Councillors on the planning committee will be recommended to approve plans for the leisure centre on Monday after a decision on the scheme was delayed last week when a “technical error” meant residents were not invited to speak at the meeting.

The cabinet will then discuss the proposal to award the contracts at a meeting on Wednesday.

Harrogate Hydro is to reduce its opening hours due to staff shortages.

The facility, which is run by Harrogate Borough Council-controlled Brimhams Active, will be closed on either a Saturday or Sunday from this weekend, which coincides with the start of half-term holidays.

It said ongoing staff shortages and effects of the covid pandemic has left it “no choice” but to make the decision.

The Hydro said in a post on its Facebook page:

“As you may be aware, the Hydro is currently operating with a reduced team and reduced programme as we continue to respond to the covid pandemic as well as being affected by the national staff shortages at leisure facilities.

“Despite our best efforts, these shortages leave us with no choice but to reduce the opening hours.

“With immediate effect, the Hydro will either be closed on Saturdays or Sundays until we close for the refurbishment project which we can now confirm will be Friday, April 8.”

The Hydro will be closed on the following days:

• Sunday, February 20 (open Saturday, February 19)
• Saturday, February 26 (open Sunday, February 27)
• Saturday, March 5 (open Sunday, March 6)
• Saturday, March 12 (open Sunday. March 13)
• Sunday, March 20 (open Saturday, March 19)
• Saturday, March 26 (open Sunday, March 27)
• Saturday, April 2 (open Sunday, April 3)

Meanwhile, the facility will be closed for a refurbishment project from April 8.

The council has not said how long the Hydro will be closed.

It said the programme for the construction of the scheme was being finalised and will go before the authority’s cabinet for approval “in due course”.

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As part of the refurbishment, the council will demolish the current ‘drum’ entrance 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.

Outside, the car park will be reconfigured with a new area bicycle storage and room for six electric vehicle charging points.

As part of its plans to overhaul leisure services, which were approved in June 2020, the council outlined a £13.5 million project to refurbish The Hydro.

Harrogate Borough Council has given the green light for a major refurbishment of Harrogate’s Hydro swimming pool.

Councillors on the planning committee approved the plans today with work on the project set to start in April.

The Hydro was first opened in 1999 and replaced the old Coppice Valley pool.

As part of its plans to overhaul leisure services, which were approved in June 2020, the council outlined a £13.5 million project to refurbish The Hydro.

The authority will demolish the current ‘drum’ entrance and replace it with a larger structure that includes a bigger café and reception area on the ground floor and a new 400 square metres fitness suite on the first floor.

Outside, the car park will be reconfigured with a new area bicycle storage and room for six electric vehicle charging points.

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Cllr Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at Brimhams Active, said:

“I’m delighted that the planning committee has approved the plans to redevelop the Hydro in Harrogate.

“This multi-million pound refurbishment project will create exciting new opportunities for local people to move more, live well and feel great.

“Our vision is to create a healthier and more active population that are living longer, more independent and happier lives.

“By creating first-class facilities like this we’ll be able to deliver the aims and objectives of Brimhams Active.”

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, said:

“Through the provision of fantastic modern leisure and wellness facilities and engaging, inclusive services we will be able to help many more people become active and lead healthier lifestyles.”

Further projects at The Hydro

The move to refurbish The Hydro comes as other work is being done to upgrade the building.

In July, the council confirmed it is to buy a new diving platform to replace the damaged one that has kept divers out of the pool for eight months.

Meanwhile, the council has also given approval for 420 solar panels to be installed on the roof of the pool as part of a decarbonisation project.

The council successfully bid this year for funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy‘s public sector decarbonisation scheme, which helped to fund the panels.

A total of £1.8 million will be spent at The Hydro to install the solar panels, as well as replace gas boilers with air source heat pumps and put in place new energy monitoring and control systems.

The Hydro is now run by Brimhams Active, a new arm’s length leisure company set up by the council this year. It has taken over the running of 12 leisure facilities in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Pateley Bridge.