Swimming pools closed after ceiling issues

A leisure centre that has battled with rising costs and problems with upgrade work has temporarily closed its pools.

Both pools at Richmond Swimming Pool have been shut until further notice after issues emerged with the ceiling, but the café and gym at the site remain open.

North Yorkshire Council's assistant director for leisure, Jo Ireland, said: "The safety of our customers and staff is paramount so we have closed the pools while we investigate the problem.

"All users of the pool have been made aware of the closure and we would like to thank them for their patience while we work to resolve this issue."

The problems come weeks after the pool transferred from the management of Richmondshire Leisure Trust to North Yorkshire Council.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, trust bosses previously warned rising costs and a drop in users were threatening the future of the facilities.

The former Richmondshire 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 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.

The upgrade work took longer than expected which meant the pool had to close for several months in 2023 due to issues with the heating system.

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