Future of popular Haxby Road pool in doubt

Charlie Croft, leisure chief at City of York Council, has revealed that despite a big increase in the number of people using Yearsley Pool, the costs of running it have risen even faster.

He warned that while Yearsley had a loyal following and wide customer base, it was expensive to run and there was no scope to reduce the level of subsidy required to run it.

In a briefing note to the council’s Labour opposition leader James Alexander, he said: “Each year, as the council is financially squeezed, the future of Yearsley comes into question, especially in terms of best value.”

The report highlighted several threats to the pool:

•The outlet pipe from the main pool has never been replaced. Its condition is unknown and should it fail, the pool would have to close – although the pipe could be replaced.

•Another pipe supplying steam under the road from the Nestlé factory to heat the pool is outdated and, if the pipework fails, all heating would be lost and the pool would have to shut while repairs were carried out.

•Nestlé’s charge for steam is to be reviewed, which could increase costs by £45,000 – and it would cost £300,000 to install boilers.

•The site is too small to add “income generating facilities”, particularly fitness, that are “essential” to creating a feasible business plan.

Referring to “possible opportunities to contribute to the replacement of Yearsley,” Mr Croft said the Huntington community stadium project should consider whether a pool could be provided as part of the stadium scheme, with the current lease for the nearby Waterworld up for renewal in 2012.

Coun Alexander said he asked for the report because he was concerned about whether the pool’s future could be assured over the next few years, and it had shown a taxpayer subsidy of £350,000 a year or £2.32 for every swimmer.

He said: “The truth is that due to lack of council investment, council waste and Conservative/ Liberal Democrat Government funding cuts, we cannot afford to keep this pool going.

“Either the Liberal Democrat executive puts significant investment into this pool to replace the heating system in the coming council budget, or the pool will have to close.”

Nigel Ayre, the council’s Liberal Democrat leisure spokesman, said Labour had proposed to shut Yearsley before in 2002, and it had only been saved after the Lib Dems won an election, but Labour was now performing a U-turn in proposing closure again, after having recently claimed swimming facilities in the city were inadequate.

He said Yearsley was the only long course pool in the city and so was a unique attraction for the increasing number of fitness swimmers. He said: “Closing Yearsley and replacing it with smaller pools would mean the city would be without a pool that meets the needs of those people who swim for fitness.”

‘It’s a disgrace’ says campaigner

NEWS that the future of Yearsley Pool is once again in doubt has been branded a “disgrace” by Fiona Evans, a leader of the successful campaign to save the baths in 2007.

She said she had been anticipating a further attack on Yearsley, and had even predicted it in a letter to The Press in 2008.

Fiona, who helped run the Yearsley Pool Action Group, said closing the pool would be a waste of taxpayers’ money after the refurbishment, which she said had made Yearsley much more energy-efficient and reduced its carbon footprint.

“It’s a disgrace,” she said. She hoped pool users would now re-form the action group to fight the new threat.