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30 April 2008
2
weeks of deafening silence!
The petition was handed over
to HBC at the Council meeting on Wednesday 16 April. It is now down
to Councillor Pat Jones to respond. She is the Cabinet member for
Cultural Services. So far there has been no response whatsoever.
2 weeks of deafening silence! We can only hope that the wait is
worthwhile.
The 'Save Our Spa' Group is now
moving from from the rather negative activity of campaigning to
the positive one of planning for the future. Local organisations
have resolved to form a formal partnership - The "Ripon Spa
Partnership" tasked with carrying out a proper options appraisal
and developing a realistic project execution plan. HBC have been
invited to join the partnership so that we can all work together
on this important issue. The goodwill and participation of the local
authority is of course vital if we are to succeed.
Despite the recent spin there
is still no change in HBC policy.
The only verifiable policy on
record lies in the official minutes
of the Cabinet meeting on 12 December. These record (item 101/7
on page 3) the following recommendation:
"That;
1) option 3, a new build
pool attached to the existing leisure centre be
chosen as the preferred option and that this option is the subject
of consultation with
Ripon City Council at the earliest opportunity ;
2)
subject to satisfactory consultation with Ripon City Council and
in support of Option 3:
- Initial outline planning consent
be sought for the construction of the new swimming pool adjacent
to the Ripon Leisure Centre............,
- Planning and Listed Building
consent be sought from the Secretary of State for demolition of
the Ripon Spa Baths.
- Detailed
planning consent be sought for the redevelopment of the Ripon Spa
Baths site, including the retained part of the building for
residential use.
The Cabinet recommendation was
unfortunately fully endorsed by Ripon City Council on 7 January
subject only to: "discussions....to ensure that
the future of the facade and pump room of the Spa Baths is secure..." [see
minutes]
Nowhere is there any mention
that housing is a 'fall back' option, that any attempts would be
made to keep the Spa Baths in community use or that other sites
for the new pool will be sought.
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New
pool integrated with the Spa Gardens
'Personally
I am not prepared to sit back and see this great legacy
of historic buildings needlessly squandered, especially
as, with a little imagination, they can become real assets
to their local communities, offering job opportunities
and focus for local regeneration schemes.'
- HRH The Prince
of Wales
PETITION
The full document
handed over with the petition is here:
This is a 2Mb pdf file and will take a while to download.
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