Extra £2m for leisure centre blighted by 'sinkhole'

An initial budget of £6.5 million was allocated to cover the ground stabilisation work

A leisure centre in North Yorkshire needs an additional £2 million of funding to deal with a "sinkhole" at the site.

Councillors will meet on 28 May and be asked to approve the extra funding for the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon.

Its new pool opened in 2022 but plans for a larger gym and studios were delayed when a void was discovered under the older part of the site.

Like much of Ripon, the centre sits above a layer of gypsum, a water-soluble rock that leads to the formation of large underground caves that can collapse.

'Disappointing'

The council’s executive committee will hear further money is needed to deal with ongoing ground stabilisation work to the existing leisure centre building, which is named after Harrogate-born Olympic gold-medallist Jack Laugher.

An initial budget of £6.5 million was allocated to cover the work but the amount of grout needed is currently higher than was originally forecast.

The project was initially started by the former Harrogate Borough Council but was taken over by North Yorkshire Council in April 2023.

The authority's executive member for leisure, councillor Simon Myers, said: “Whilst Harrogate Borough Council estimated the cost of the ground stabilisation before work started, the nature of the geology issues in Ripon meant that it was difficult to forecast it with a high degree of certainty.

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

A temporary gym was installed in the centre’s car park when the need for ground stabilisation work came to light.

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