Harrogate Borough Council have confirmed further detail on the agreement made with Rossett Academy School as it takes on the operation of the Sports Centre.
Harrogate Borough Council took the decision to not continue with the joint management of Rossett Sports Centre, leaving it to the school to decide if it could continue with community use of the facility. Initially the school said it could not run the sports centre on a commercial basis for community use. At the eleventh hour an agreement was made with the Council for that to happen.
Harrogate Council made an offer to the School of £95K plus the residual value of the artificial pitch.
The amount actually paid to the school as cash will be less than £95k as there are liabilities remaining with the Council relating to the detail of the agreement which are to be netted off. These costs have been agreed with the school but are subject to legal privilege so cannot be published.
In 2010, the council replaced the artificial pitch at a total cost of £162,000. The school has been the freehold owner of both pitch and sports centre ever since academy status was achieved.
There are a number of conditions attached to the agreement, including:
- Rossett School must match the Council grant
- Council grant and school matched funds must be reinvested in the sports facilities at Rossett
- Facilities must remain open for community use for a minimum of 3 years from the date the grant is expended
The grant is to facilitate the refurbishment of the facilities and the minimum 3 years of community use starts once that refurbishment is complete.
