Harrogate Borough Council is set to upgrade its 20-year-old booking system as part of an overhaul of leisure facilities in the district.

The authority is set to award a contract for its leisure management system (LMS), which is used for booking lessons, memberships and operating the tills at facilities.

It would be used by the the council’s new company, Brimhams Active, which was set up as part of an overhaul of leisure in the district.

Brimhams Active is set to take over the running of Harrogate Hydro, Knaresborough Leisure Centre and other facilities in August.

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According to a report due before Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, on Thursday, the current system used by the council is outdated and ageing.

It said:

“The council’s current LMS has been in use for almost 20 years. 

“Its age means that it lacks functionality which would be regarded as “standard” for operators in today’s market, leaving HBC at a competitive disadvantage.”

The council is recommended to hand the contract to an unnamed company after a competitive tender process.

The value of the contract was not revealed in the report.

If approved, the contract would last for two years with an option to extend for two further periods of 12 months.

The borough council overhauled the district’s leisure facilities last year and decided to hand them over to an arms-length company owned by the authority.

The council also announced a £26 million investment in the Harrogate Hydro and the new leisure centre at Knaresborough, which was expected to be borrowed from the government.

At the time, Cllr Lumley said the two “came hand in hand” and would help the authority save money.

The company has since been incorporated and appointed seven directors, which includes local councillors, council officers and Mark Tweedie, who has been appointed managing director of Brimhams Active.

According to Companies House, Zoe Appleton-Metcalfe, Wallace Sampson, Samuel Gibbs, Stan Lumley, Trevor Watson and Pat Marsh have been appointed directors.

Starbeck Residents Association has expressed concern that Harrogate Borough Council is “using covid as an excuse” not to re-open Starbeck Baths.

The baths, along with two other council-run pools, failed to reopen last week when lockdown restrictions eased.

With no date given for reopening, questions are being asked about the future of the 150-year-old building, which is used by local schools and residents.

Stuart Rhodes, a member of the association’s committee, said:

“We should keep it open at all costs. As a piece of architecture, history and a way of keeping Harrogate fit, it is vital.

“There is a worry covid is being used as an excuse to keep it closed.”

Read more:

• Local leisure shake-up puts Starbeck Baths’ future under the spotlight.
• Plans for new Knaresborough pool are “catastrophic” for the environment.

The future of the baths has been a contentious issue in recent weeks. The local councillor is asking for a better explanation for its continued closure.

Mr Rhodes said the pool’s future had been debated on previous occasions but each time a “community backlash” led to it staying open.

The association has considered applying for the building to get listed status to help preserve its future.

A council spokeswoman said the layout of the baths meant it cannot adhere to current government guidelines.

She added:

“Starbeck Baths remains an important facility amongst the leisure services we provide.

“Due to the unique layout of the building, and the government’s existing social distancing measures, we are currently unable to open the baths.

“We are waiting for the government to publish future social distancing rules which will dictate how quickly we can reopen.”

Questions are being asked over the continued closure of Starbeck Baths. The 150 year old pool has yet to open after restrictions were eased a week ago.

Harrogate Borough Council said it is waiting for further government guidance regarding social distancing. It said the layout and age of the building makes it more difficult to reopen than larger venues.

With Knaresborough pool in need of repairs and the opening of the new facility in Ripon delayed, much of the district has no swimming facilities after lockdown eased.

This August all of the district’s baths will move under the control of the council’s arms-length company, Brimham’s Active.

As part of the reorganisation, a council report released last summer said “the future of Starbeck Baths would need to be considered” which led to suspicion it would be closed permanently.

The Liberal Democrat Starbeck ward councillor, Philip Broadbank said he wants a better explanation as to why it’s still closed.

He said:

“Without a pool in Knaresborough we need to have something on this side. I can’t see why its not open. Of course you do become concerned that it’s been so long and it’s an old pool and this would be the way to close it but I have been assured it will be reopened as soon as practically possible. It’s needed now more than ever.”

Read more:

• Three of Harrogate district’s five pools remain closed. 
• Cost of heating Ripon Spa Baths revealed. 

The four-lane pool is the second oldest council-run pool in the UK and pre-covid was very popular with local residents.

Some have taken to social media to question its continued closure including Chris Watt who said on Twitter “I hope Harrogate Borough Council reopen Starbeck pool soon. Our little boy has been missing is swimming lessons over the last year and it’s a great community asset.”

When the Stray Ferret asked the council about Starbeck Baths it said:

“We are waiting for the government to publish guidance on future social distancing rules which will dictate how quickly we can reopen Starbeck Baths.

“There are no plans to close Starbeck Baths.”

Previously, the council leader Richard Cooper has said whilst in leadership the Baths would not be closed.

A Freedom of Information request by The Stray Ferret, last year, showed the bill for running the baths increased from £234,193 in 2018/19 to an estimated £239,370 last year.

The hot tub industry expects to see another boom as the national stay-at-home order is lifted, and firms in Harrogate are already getting booked up.

As of March 29, the rule of six was reintroduced, allowing two households or six people from different households to meet outdoors.

Since people have been allowed to share their gardens with friends and family once more, hot tubs have been in huge demand.

Hot tub hiring businesses have become a big part of garden entertainment.

Bubble & Chic Hot Tub Hire in Harrogate was only established last month after owner Janie Carr decided to change career due to the pandemic.

Since its first booking on March 25, inquiries have not stopped. Ms Carr said:

“I posted an advertisement on a Facebook group on Thursday and by Friday I was inundated with bookings for the next four months. I even have full bookings for August bank holiday already.”

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However, starting a new business during the grip of a pandemic is not without its challenges. She added:

“Lockdown has massively impacted the garden entertainment industry as I have been unable to get stock to hire out. A particular gazebo I use to put over the hot tub has been out of stock for months and others seem to be out of stock or have long delivery times.”

Harrogate Hot Tubs has encountered the same issue, with products to clean the hot tubs increasing in price. But this hasn’t stopped the Jacuzzi boom.

Paul Underwood, owner of the business, said:

“We had around four bookings in January 2020, this January we had over 100. Lockdown has definitely increased business for us, almost six-fold.

“We’ve had to turn down over 100 bookings since January as we’re fully booked, but we are expecting to see a further increase of bookings in summer with people maybe not wanting to go on holiday.”

The Mayor of Ripon and city council leader are demanding the reopening of Spa Baths.

With the completion date for Ripon’s new swimming pool delayed until November, councillors Eamon Parkin and Andrew Williams, are leading the call.

They visited the Grade II listed building with members of Ripon Civic Society on Friday and discovered the pool full of warm water and the heating on.

Councillor Parkin told the Stray Ferret:

“Though the building has been closed for more than a year because of the covid pandemic, it appeared to be in good shape.

“I can see no reason why it shouldn’t be back open from 12 April, along with other pools in the Harrogate district.”

Ripon is set to be without a swimming pool until November.

He added:

“Heaven knows how much it has cost to keep the heating on while the baths have been closed to the public.

“It is clear from what we saw, that council tax payers have been paying for a facility they have been unable to use.

“The pool needs to be back open from the moment that the lockdown on leisure facilities lifts.”

They were shown around by an agent from Sanderson Weatherall, which has been appointed by Harrogate Borough Council to handle the disposal of the property.

The fact-finding visit was arranged after Ripon City Council voted unanimously to keep the building in public ownership for community use.

Cllr Williams said:

“We turned up wearing our coats expecting to see the pool drained, but were surprised to find it in an operational condition.

“In some respects it was quite shocking – the heat was stifling.

“We were also surprised to discover from the agent that there is no set asking price or a guide price for the building.”

Asked about a potential reopening of Spa Baths, Councillor Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said:

“That has still to be decided.”

Cllr Lumley confirmed the Hydro swimming pool in Harrogate and Nidderdale Pool in Pateley Bridge will be reopening in April.

To comply with social distancing requirements, both will have a limited number of users.

He added:

“We are getting to a position with the roadmap, that enables us to reopen facilities, but we are limited to what we can open.”

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The initial focus will be on the reopening of the Hydro and Nidderdale pools.

Cllr Lumley said:

“We have to look on the other pools with more consideration and we can’t give a yes or no on Spa Baths at the moment.

“Decisions are being made on a weekly, if not daily basis.”

Harrogate Borough Council has said it still does not know the final cost of Ripon’s new swimming pool.

In response to a second Freedom of Information request about the project from the Stray Ferret, the council said.

“The information you request is not held by Harrogate Borough Council because the final costs are not yet known.”

A £10.2 million contract was awarded to construction company Willmott Dixon before work started on site in November 2019.

The 17-month contact was for delivery of a six-lane pool, along with refurbishment of the existing Ripon Leisure Centre on the Dallamires Lane site.

That contract specified a completion date of May 21 this year, but a press release issued by HBC said the project will now be completed in November.

Councillor Stanley Lumley, HBC’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said the project had been ‘slightly delayed’ by covid.

In a press release dated November 13, he added:

“Ground work, known as grouting, is nearing completion.”

Grouting is a method used to stabilise unstable ground.

Read more:

• Additional Ripon swimming pool cost ‘confidential’
• Call for urgent action to safeguard Ripon’s Spa Baths

Ground stability issues

Sixteen months before the council approved the swimming pool development, a sinkhole opened up in the leisure centre car park.

Following the incident in February 2018, which saw the car park barriered off and closed, the council issued this statement:

In the first FOI request, the Stray Ferret asked HBC how much of the contract costs related to ground remediation prior to construction.

The council was also asked if additional fees are payable to Willmott Dixon for extension of the project.

HBC responded, saying:

“Additional ‘site preliminaries’ will be payable to the main contractor as a result of the extension of the construction contract.”

The council added:

“A public authority may refuse to disclose information to the extent that its disclosure would adversely affect the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information where such confidentiality is provided by law to protect a legitimate economic interest.”

Knaresborough residents have begun campaigning to save Fsyche Field when the town’s swimming pool and leisure centre is rebuilt.

The park, next to the leisure centre, is used by local families and sports clubs.

But campaigners fear it will be concreted over under plans by Harrogate Borough Council to rebuild the leisure centre.

Local resident David Hull has set up a website and Facebook page to encourage more people to join his campaign to save Knaresborough’s only recreational green space.

The Facebook group has 36 members, which Mr Hull hopes will increase as more people hear of the plans.

Mr Hull has concerns about the loss of green space and increase in traffic pollution.

He also believes the council hasn’t clearly explained to people the threat to Fsyche Field. Several people he knows were unaware it could be lost.

Mr Hull said he has no issue with the current site being used for further development but is determined to stop any building on the recreational field.

He said:

“Its outrageous what the council are doing to get away with it. Our aim is to protect the green space because once it’s gone it’ll be gone forever.

“We want to get the message out there. It’ll have a catastrophic effect, it’s a great amenity to the town.”

The proposed site plans for the new leisure centre.

Mr Hull questioned the need for a new leisure centre and suggested the money could be better spent on refurbishing the existing pool rather than demolishing it.

He has suggested the council looks at nearby brownfield sites for the development.

He has also been in touch with local councillors of all political parties to put forward his concerns.

Read more:

• HBC has said it is now looking for UK engineers to fix the problems at Knaresborough pools.
• Four major transport schemes hoping to improve Harrogate are up for debate today. 

A total of £23 million is set to be spent on leisure facilities in the district, including the Knaresborough rebuild.

Although only at design stage, the council has confirmed Alliance Leisure Services has been appointed to work on the project.

A council spokesman said:

“We have carried out an options appraisal to evaluate potential sites in Knaresborough.

“Each site was judged against set criteria including; location, physical appearance, access as well as any planning or legal factors that may influence the decision. Based on the work carried out, the existing site has been recommended for the location of the new leisure centre.

“Although the existing site in Knaresborough has been recommended, we are still in the early stages and no formal plans have been submitted.

“The current venue is nearing 30 years old, is operating at capacity, only provides a swimming pool and has a number of ongoing maintenance issues which are not resolvable without significant investment.”

The current site was one of four options put forward by the council. The others included Hay-a-Park and Conyngham Hall.

Harrogate district residents are being invited to have their say on where a new leisure centre in Knaresborough should be built.

Harrogate Borough Council is consulting on its plans to build the new centre, which will include a swimming pool and gym, on the site of the current swimming pool in Knaresborough.

The council chose the current leisure centre site as its preferred option for the development last month ahead of Knaresborough House, Hay-a-Park, Conyngham Hall and a site on Halfpenny Lane.

It is now offering residents the chance to give their views.

The consultation document says the leisure centre will serve the “east of the district” rather than just Knaresborough, which will do little to calm fears Starbeck Baths will close.

The document also highlights how 150-year-old Starbeck Baths and the current Knaresborough leisure centre are “aging and have significant operational and unplanned maintenance issues and will not meet the future needs of their users”.

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The survey asks residents if they agree with the council’s choice of preferred site. Survey participants can also express their reasons for agreeing or disagreeing.

The consultation, which ends on January, 18, can be found here.

The plans for Knaresborough are in conjunction with refurbishment plans for the Harrogate Hydro. It is expected to cost over £26 million.

The council has appointed Alliance Leisure, a Somerset-based company, to develop the plans.

A second consultation will be held over the future of leisure services in the Harrogate district.

After 417 people responded to a consultation which closed earlier this month, Harrogate Borough Council said it will go back to the public – but it has not confirmed when, or what it will ask.

Campaigners in Knaresborough are calling for the council to rule out using the Conyngham Hall site for a new leisure centre,. However, HBC said responses to the survey are being assessed and no decision has been made over where it will be built, with Knaresborough House, Hay-a-Park and the existing swimming pool site all on the shortlist.

The council has confirmed residents will get another chance to express their opinions in a follow-up consultation in the coming weeks. A spokesman said:

“The results will be evaluated and used to inform the various options and subsequent recommendations for the multi-million pound investment in sport and leisure across the Harrogate district.”

Read more:

• Civic society label proposed decision to build at Conyngham Hall ‘cultural vandalism’
• Decision to cancel Knaresborough Christmas Market ‘wasn’t unexpected’

The suggestion of the Grade II* listed Conyngham Hall as a potential spot for the new leisure centre has been met with criticism. The hall itself is used as office space and leased by the council to businesses, while the grounds are popular for leisure activities.

Campaigns to protect the green space have been set up by local residents on Facebook, and by the Harrogate & Knaresborough Liberal Democrats and Knaresborough Civic Society.

Civic society chairman James Monaghan said:

“Knaresborough Civic Society believes that building a new leisure centre and car park on green space at the grade 2 star listed Conyngham Hall would be completely unacceptable.

Our preference is to see the Conyngham Hall site removed from consideration full stop.”

The current site being used for the swimming pool is favoured by local groups over the proposal to build at Conyngham Hall

Mr Monaghan said he was pleased that the council had agreed to consult again and was hopeful that it would give local people a say on the location of the new leisure centre. The civic society’s preference is for the existing site to be used.

He added:

“The proposals for a leisure centre at either Conyngham Hall or on the green space at Knaresborough House would have a terrible impact on the historical character of Knaresborough.”

Harrogate’s town centre is at a critical crossroads.

The town has an enviable reputation as a destination for beautiful scenery, good bars and restaurants and independent shops.

But many businesses in the town are struggling. Many were under pressure before coronavirus – the Stray Ferret has reported on several well-loved local businesses ceasing to trade.

So what do you think should be done to improve the town’s fortunes? We want as many people as possible to fill in what will be the most comprehensive survey of its kind on how you use Harrogate town centre and what you think can help revive its economy.

We would like to hear views not only from Harrogate residents but also people in nearby places such as Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Masham who use Harrogate for work and leisure.

Read more:

• Is the future of Harrogate town centre more homes, less shopping?
• Harrogate family pet shop to close after more than 50 years

The survey takes about 10 minutes and everyone who takes part will be entered into a prize draw with free gifts – a Stray Ferret umbrella or a 12 pack of special Stray Ferret beer brewed by Harrogate-based Roosters. You have to be over 18 to fill in the survey.

The survey results, which will be published on our website, will help shape the debate.

Click here to have your say on your town.