Following a Freedom of Information request (FOI) to Harrogate Borough Council, it has been disclosed that the ground around the new Ripon Swimming pool needs to be continuously monitored for safety reasona.
During the build of the 25metre pool, a £10 million contract, a void was discovered to the right-hand side of the existing leisure centre entrance. The discovery was made when the reinforced concrete slab, which provides the foundation for the new swimming pool, was being cast – the void was filled with crushed gravel.
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said:
To ensure that Ripon Leisure Centre and Swimming Pool continue to be safe, specialist monitoring systems are in place comprising a series of gauges have been installed within the foundations and extensometers (instruments for measuring the deformation of a material under stress) extend into the ground below the foundations of the new swimming pool.
Further ground works are ongoing to the Leisure Centre which will involve an expansion of a monitoring system.
A temporary monitoring solution is in place whilst the works proceed with the Leisure Centre.
The ground is continually monitored remotely by means of a software monitoring system. The ground is also monitored visually on site.
