BOROUGH bosses have rejected repeated calls for the sale of Ripon Spa Baths to be halted while work on the city’s regeneration masterplan is underway. The historic baths was put on the market by Harrogate Borough Council in February in a move which sparked concerns that it could lose its community use if snapped up by a private developer. Groups including Ripon City Council, Ripon Civic Society and Ripon Together have since made calls for the sale not to be rushed through, but borough bosses have now made their intentions clearer than ever. “We have no plans to withdraw the sale of Ripon Spa Baths,” a Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said. “The building will soon become surplus to our requirements and we do not have the resources to maintain it.
A SENIOR Harrogate councillor says he hopes Ripon and Starbeck Baths will reopen next month. Councillor Stanley Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at Harrogate Borough, said the swimming pools were currently closed despite a government go-ahead to reopen because of staffing shortages and “challenges” around social distancing. He added the council is “hoping” they can reopen in May, although Knaresborough Pool will stay shut due to maintenance problems. “We are hoping to open Ripon Pool in May and providing we have got staff availability, very soon after that we will be opening Starbeck,” he told a meeting last night.