Hope of secure future for swimming pool after council takeover
The future of a community-run swimming pool would be secured by putting it under council control, it has been claimed.North Yorkshire Council is due to take on the running of Richmond Swimming Pool on 1 March, following issues with rising costs and upgrade work at the venue in recent years.The facility will be the latest in the county to be taken in-house following the launch of the unitary authority in 2023.Richmond councillor Stuart Parsons said the transfer to council control was a "good move", which would see an "almost seamless changeover".
Similar venues in Selby, Tadcaster, Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon, have already been taken on by North Yorkshire Council under its Active North Yorkshire banner.The council is also set to take control of adjacent Liberty Health Club in Richmond from 1 March.The Richmond pool and gym are currently operated by Richmondshire Leisure Trust, with the charity given the lease by the former Richmondshire District Council in 2005.In recent years, trust bosses have warned that rising costs and fewer users had threatened the future of the facilities.According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service the former district council came under fire in 2022 for giving the trust almost 5% of its income to run the services — and then having to provide an extra £75,000 in funding to cover a 400% increase in energy bills.The council also agreed to pay compensation to the trust of up to £85,000 due to lost income from issues with a £1.9m revamp, which included a new heating system and solar panels on the roof.
'Enhance lives'
Parsons said he had "felt sorry" for Richmondshire Leisure Trust.He added: "They were created on the understanding they could access funding that the council couldn't, but that wasn't really the case."Trust bosses said the facilities were being handed over in good shape with a record number of gym users and the highest number of swimmers using the pool for several years, despite a decline in swimming nationally.Chairman of Richmondshire Leisure Trust, Andy White, said: "As these special and vital facilities transfer to new management, we hope that they will continue to enhance the lives of all who are involved in their provision."Council officers said the swimming pool and health club would operate as normal during the transition and memberships and opening hours would remain unchanged.Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Fury as Brighton Council plan for gender-neutral changing village at new pool being built by firm founded by Olympic swimmers
A new £5.5million pool in Brighton designed by a firm founded by Olympic swimming stars have provoked fury over plans suggesting a gender-neutral changing village. Campaigners say women and children could be put at risk as they raised questions about the mooted new facilities at Withdean Sports Complex. Venue owner Brighton and Hove City Council has handed the contract for the pool's design to ReCreation, a company set up by four-time Olympic medallist Dame Rebecca Adlington and fellow Olympic swimmers Steve Parry and Adrian Turner. Councillors have hailed 'plans for this much needed new swimming pool' to be built at the Withdean sports base, which has an athletics stadium that was formerly home to Brighton and Hove Albion FC between 1999 and 2011. But critics have drawn attention to how the newly published plans, put out to public consultation, promise 'Gender neutral changing village and toilets'. The local authority has since said there has been a 'misunderstanding' about the published plans, while suggesting they had been wrongly phrased. Complaints are now pouring in to the council's online questionnaire seeking reaction, with gender-critical campaigners raising concerns about single-sex only facilities potentially allowing predatory men access to women and children. Planning documents shared as part of an ongoing public consultation plan show designs for the new pool's footprint, accompanied by a page listing 'Key considerations' and headed 'Accessible for everyone'. The document says the proposals are for 'a new facility designed for inclusion and wellbeing' that would 'ensure access for all users'. The design features are listed as including 'ramped and stair access to suit all levels of mobility', a 'wheelchair-accessible changing cubicle' and 'designated wheelchair spaces in the spectator area'. Yet critics have highlighted one of the other bullet points which states: 'Gender-neutral changing village and toilets designed with inclusivity in mind.' Similar concerns have been raised over gender-neutral changing facilities at other leisure centres nationwide, with the group Women's Rights Network calling for curbs. Brighton and Hove City Council has shared a possible floor plan for the proposed new pool - saying cubicles would include 'a mix of single, double, family and accessible'. Human rights charity Sex Matters have said the floor plan did not appear to indicate provision for single-sex facilities. The organisation's director of advocacy Helen Joyce said: 'It's incomprehensible that any council would choose to build a new community pool with only "gender neutral" - that is, mixed sex - changing facilities. 'Most people, of both sexes, prefer single sex facilities for privacy and dignity, and for women they are important for safety too. 'There is increasing evidence that mixed sex changing rooms and toilets are a gift to predatory men who seek to harass, abuse and sexually assault women and girls.' She told of increasing reports of phone-related incidents in 'gender-neutral' changing rooms and toilets as well as complaints that men have been hiding cameras in such facilities to record women in a state of undress. Ms Joyce added: 'If Withdean Sports Complex really wants to be "inclusive", it shouldn't design its facilities in a way that will put off women and girls, especially those who have suffered abuse or are from religions and cultures where sharing changing rooms with men is unacceptable.' Faye McGinty, of Women's Rights Network which has been campaigning against such 'gender-neutral changing villages', called for authorities to show more concern. She said: 'We know that the changing village design for swimming pools is a magnet for predatory males. 'All over the country, women and girls are constantly put at risk of voyeurism and other forms of sexual abuse in these mixed sex changing rooms in the name of 'inclusivity'. 'Councils, architects and Sport England need to look at the overwhelming evidence of harm and review any new and ongoing projects like the Withdean Sports Complex, considering the safety of women and girls through a robust risk assessment and consultation with women's groups.' Gender-critical activist Kellie-Jay Keen warned that such gender -neutral changing villages would put women and children in danger if not safely signed. She said the quality of such facilities did vary - as she praised those at her nearest leisure centre in Wiltshire for having entirely enclosed cubicles, with walls running from floor to ceiling. But she said others made people more vulnerable to indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual assaults. She told MailOnline: 'These gender-neutral changing villages do seem to be on the rise. I live in Wiltshire and we've got one and I was encouraged to see the cubicles do seem to be fully enclosed. 'If they are fully enclosed, right to the top from the floor and are fully impenetrable, I don't see there's anything wrong with them. 'But if, say, a mobile phone can come through any gaps or pierce a hole, then it's simply not good enough. 'Anything less than being fully enclosed puts women and children at risk.' Brighton and Hove City Council sources have suggested in response to the backlash that there had been a 'misunderstanding' following phrasing in the published plans and insisted users would be kept separate in the proposed 'village'. They said lockable toilets and changing rooms would be similar to those seen in leisure centres nationwide. And they described the phrasing in the published documents as 'something, we'll have to have a chat, the way it's been worded'. Councillor Alan Robins, cabinet member for sports, recreation and libraries, today said: 'There has been a misunderstanding over the naming of the facilities on the designs. 'But to be clear, they are for the industry standard, individual, lockable cubicles used at leisure facilities up and down the country. 'We are delighted to be consulting on a new state of the art swimming pool for residents of Brighton and Hove.' A formal planning application related to the proposed new pool is expected to be submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council later this year. But initial designs and plans for the five-lane, 25m facility were revealed this month, with councillor Mr Robins describing the unveiling as 'incredibly exciting'. He said: 'As a coastal city it's vital that all our children and young people have the chance to learn to swim at an affordable price, and that we listen to the views of our residents and do everything we can to provide modern, sustainable and affordable sporting facilities for all.' The project, given an estimated budget of £5.5million, is being overseen by swimming pool design firm ReCreation, part of the Swim network of UK-wide community pools. The company says on its website: 'Using innovative technology and designs, we deliver bespoke public leisure buildings for a fraction of the traditional cost. 'Every project we undertake becomes our passion and we offer a complete, dedicated design and delivery team that collaborates with each client on a case-by-case basis to provide an optimum, cost-effective leisure solution.' Adrian Turner, director of ReCreation, said earlier this year when the Withdean partnership was announced: 'Our guarantee is a swimming pool that the community will love. 'We will be using the latest design and engineering technologies to develop a pool that will be warm, safe and inviting. 'For 11 years in a row, more pools in the UK have closed than opened, so we are thrilled to be reversing that trend with Brighton & Hove City Council.' The firm has been described as the country's leading provider of above-ground pools, after being founded in 2009 alongside the Pools4Schools initiative. They opened Britain's first Olympic-length above-ground pool in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham in 2019. Dame Rebecca and Parry also set up Swim!, an organisation set up 'to help children to swim' - with regular sessions held weekly at pools across the country. The company describes them as 'passionate about teaching children to swim' and how they were 'achieving this by opening state-of-the-art, family-friendly centres around the UK'. Dame Rebecca, 36, won two gold medals at London 2012 - the first British swimmer to hold two golds since 1908. She followed that up with a pair of bronzes at the Summer Games in Rio four years later.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Peterborough sports quarter and pool backed by government
Plans for a swimming pool in a city that has been left without one for almost two years have been backed by the autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was first discovered at Peterborough's Regional Pool in September 2023 and it was forced to her Spending Review on Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would establish funding to help the City Council develop plans for a sports quarter, including a Pakes, the Labour MP for the city, said it was the "only one of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the country without a public pool". In her speech to Parliament, Reeves said the government would establish a Growth Mission Fund worth £240m "to expedite local projects that are important for growth".She said a sports quarter would form part of the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) campus in the city and it would "drive activity and community cohesion".Following the speech, Pakes said: "Today's backing from the government for the principle of a new pool and sports quarter, bringing together ARU Peterborough, the council and others means we can now bid for the funding, put the business case in and get a new pool in the city centre."Reeves boosts NHS and housing budgets but Tories say it's 'spend now, tax later'Seven ways the Spending Review will affect youSpending Review: Where key money is being spent... in 99 seconds A decision was made to permanently close the Regional Pool in March 2024 due to high repair costs, with demolition work expected to take place until July. It was hoped that a replacement pool, which would be built at an estimated cost of £30m, would be open by said it could be about 18 months before work on the sports quarter would begin. Funding is expected to be confirmed in the summer. City of Peterborough Swimming Club has been left without a home since the regional pool Stevenson from the club said it was "thrilled" by the announcement both for the club and the wider of the council, Dennis Jones, described the announcement as "fantastic" and said the council would work "at pace" on the business case before it was submitted to the government. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- BBC News
Damage to Ashburton Swimming Pool sparks urgent repairs
A community swimming pool in south Devon is undergoing repairs due to significant Swimming Pool said contractors identified "lots of cracks" at the deep end of the pool, causing the wall to shift and leak. Ms Wood said the community pool has spent more than £50,000 on an "extensive rebuild of the deep end wall".Chair of trustees Lucy Wood said due to the issue, they lost between 1,200 and 1,800 litres of water a day last year which had been a "big cost". "It is quite a significant leak that has added on a huge cost," she said. "Every cubic meter we lost in water we have had to replace, heat and balance it with chemicals."That has been a really big challenge for us for the last couple of years since discovering these significant leaks."Trustees called in a national swimming pool leak team to investigate and after digging behind the cracked wall, they found the damage was more extensive than they originally anticipated. She said once the repairs were complete and there were no further leaks, they needed to heat the water and balance the chemicals which can take up to three weeks. 'Use it or lose it' She said the safety of their visitors was "paramount".The pool is run by volunteers after it was taken over by the local community in 2016. Ever since has been supported and funded by the people of Wood said the funding has been "vital", adding Ashburton Town Council also gave money to contribute towards this year's repairs."Without the community support, the pool doesn't exist, and it wouldn't be able to open," she said. "The pool has to be used, it's a use it or lose it. We love to see people swimming in there."
