AN outdoor education centre on the North Yorkshire coast will permanently close after 70 years due to rising repair costs.
A planned cash injection into East Barnby Outdoor Centre near Whitby has been cancelled and the site will be handed back to its owner after bosses at North Yorkshire Council voted to end further investment.
Councillors warned of ballooning repair costs at the site which temporarily closed in December after concerns about the condition of the electrics, and that significant investment would have been required for it to reopen and remain operational.
In 2023, the council agreed a £4.2m revamp of its Bewerley Park and East Barnby centres, but while the site near Pateley Bridge was successfully modernised, work never took place on the east coast facility.
Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, executive member for education, learning and skills, said: “The site has operated for more than 70 years, providing generations of young people with impactful residential and day experiences.
“It’s been closed since December last year due to electrical issues and comprises 24 prefabricated WWII buildings with accommodation facilities.”
Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday, August 18, she added: “Property services have indicated the site would need significant investment over the next few years to reopen and remain operational.
“As it is a leasehold site, this would represent a significant capital investment without long-term asset benefit to the council, on top of the repair and maintenance budget we allocate every year.
“This report does not propose ending outdoor learning on the east coast. Instead, it recommends a new delivery model.”
Members of the authority’s executive committee voted unanimously to terminate its lease with the Mulgrave Estate and formally end outdoor learning provision from the site.
However, concerns were raised by coastal councillors about ensuring future provision in the area.
Outdoor education can continue to be offered from Birch Hall Scout Camp, between Whitby and Scarborough, until July 2028 while it considers longer-term options, members were told.
Cllr Liz Colling, chair of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee, said coastal representatives “regret that the infrastructure at East Barnby has suffered from years of underinvestment, but accept that as we do not own the site, there seems to be no other option but to surrender the property back to the landlord”.
She added: “The committee recognises the importance of East Barnby and its impact on young people across the east coast.
“We also know that every effort has been made at Birch Hall, but there are some constraints there, and the inability to use it at the weekend – which I understand why – and the lack of disabled access, means that some very vulnerable people are not going to be able to experience the outdoor activities,
“The area committee would like to stress the importance of the provision in the east of the county and the importance of a coastal location to facilitate all that the coast has to offer.”
Council officers said that repair costs for the East Barnby site were putting pressure on the overall budget of the council’s maintenance service and that “there simply isn’t money in the budget to meet the level of repairs that is needed”.
Cllr Wilkinson added: “The Birch Hall model provides a lower-risk interim solution while a longer-term solution is explored until July 2028.
“These proposals seek to ensure there are no disruptions to outdoor learning opportunities for children on the east coast.”