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Further £2million to be spent on stabilisation of Ripon Leisure Centre

Tuesday, 21 May 2024 08:21

By Esmee Howie

The Jack Laugher Leisure Centre in Ripon.

£2million in funding is set to be provided to further stabilise the ground around Ripon Leisure Centre.

On Monday 28th May, members of North Yorkshire Council will be asked to approve a further £2 million for a scheme at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon.

The extra funding is needed to deal with ongoing ground stabilisation to the existing building.

The project was initially started by the former Harrogate Borough Council, but it is now being overseen by North Yorkshire Council following its launch in April last year.

The budget was initially £6.5 million for the ground stabilisation work but the volume of grout needed is higher than what was predicted.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for leisure, Cllr Simon Myers, said:

“It is disappointing that the overall project is now estimated at £8.5million but we believe Ripon deserves good quality leisure facilities."

Cllr Myers added:

“If we had decided not to proceed with the stabilisation works and looked to move the leisure centre side of the operation to another area, we would have had the pool and leisure centre in separate locations which is not only more costly for us to operate, but also not the best option for customers either.”

Work to update the swimming pool and leisure centre began in November 2019 with a new six-lane swimming pool and playground opening in the spring of 2022.

When the ground work began, a temporary gym was installed in the centre’s car park.

The internal refurbishment of the leisure centre has been put on hold until that work is complete.

The leisure centre in Ripon has been named after Harrogate-born Jack Laugher, who made history in the 2016 Rio Olympics when he became the first ever Olympic champion in diving for Great Britain.

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