Rossett Sports Centre Latest

Michelle writes: Back in December, I explained that Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) planned to pull out of the management of Rossett Sports Centre as of October 2012. We were all unhappy about this prospect and worried by the potential loss of well-used facilities, such as the all-weather pitch used extensively for matches and training by local football teams. HBC were looking to make cost savings for 2012/13 and this proposal contributed to approximately £64,000 of savings over the year.

Jim and I sit on the Overview and Scrutiny Commitee and we played a key role in scrutinising the budget and the proposed cuts. We were passionate about protecting the services and we made the recommendation that the proposal to pull out of the management of the sports centre should only go ahead if there were alternative arrangements made before the council pulled out. We're pleased to say that this recommendation was included.

This means that although ALL Councillors voted to pass the budget, that HBC will not withdraw until a suitable alternative to take over the sports centre management has been established. To this end, HBC have begun talks with Rossett School and the school is giving serious consideration as to how it can continue with giving community access outside of school hours. We're reassured that HBC is committed to seeking alternative arrangements and we'll keep you posted on any future developments. Needless to say, Jim and  will offer support wherever we can be useful.

If anyone has any comments, please do get in touch.

Police Training College Future Plans

Michelle writes: Jim and I recently met with Ciaran McGuigan, Head of Centre at the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) Harrogate on Yew Tree Lane to be briefed on the future of the NPIA and its 145 permanent staff and 31 contracted facilities management staff.



The NPIA on Yew Tree Lane

The NPIA will be phased out and will no longer exist in its current form after December 2012. However, many of the functions currently based at the site are critical to support policing nationally and cannot simply be disbanded. Therefore, many of these functions are likely to transfer into a number of newly created organisations that were announced by the Home Secretary earlier in the year and as recently as December.  These include; the National Crime Agency, a Police Professional Body and an Information and Communications Technology Company. 

As part of the transition into the different bodies, NPIA needs to reduce the spending on their national estate by 50%, so it has accepted the need to move away from its Harrogate site. The agency is now exploring the possibility of disposing of the site. It is also looking into the feasibility of moving the training activities to other NPIA sites and finding alternative locations in the area for the other national police work currently done there.

The main reason for the decision to relocate the existing functions is specific to NPIA needing to rationalise and make savings on its estate rather than the functions and services it provides to policing or the number of staff needed to deliver these. No decisions have been made about staff currently working at Harrogate but as the NPIA is due to be phased out by the end of 2012, it is impossible to give guarantees about the future of any of its staff but they will be doing everything possible to minimise redundancies.

Although no definite decisions have been made about the future of the site, the NPIA have applied to Harrogate Borough Council for a change of use, so it may be that part of the existing developed brownfield site could be used for housing while retaining the green surrounding spaces of the college too.

Councillor Michelle Woolley says, “It’s very good news that redundancies will be kept to a minimum and that a part of the site may be considered for housing, relieving some of the pressure to build on Special Landscape Area beyond Cardale Park. “

Councillor Jim Clark says, “Local residents will be sorry to see the NPIA leave as they have been very good neighbours. Residents must be consulted on how the site will be used next.”

Formerly Pannal Ash College, the NPIA premises were purchased by West Riding County Council in 1945 for use as a training college for police recruits. Staff located at NPIA Harrogate is responsible for providing a range of national products and services, for example: national police recruitment, examinations and promotion processes, design of national learning and development programmes, delivery of training programmes, accreditation and quality assurance services, Police Forensic 21 Programme and the Information Technology Helpdesk team.