Senior members of North Yorkshire Council have unanimously agreed to cease educational and residential trips to East Barnby outdoor centre.
At a meeting of the authority’s Executive held in Northallerton yesterday, members rubber-stamped a report where council officers had previously made a number of recommendations.
It has been agreed that NYC will cease further capital investment in the East Barnby site and terminate the lease with the Mulgrave Estate, subject to completion of the necessary legal and financial arrangements.
Outdoor learning will be provided at Birch Hall in Scarborough until July 31, 2028.
Funding already set aside for investment at East Barnby will pay for a staffing restructure.
The Corporate Director Children & Young Peoples Service will undertake an options appraisal and business case to set out the long-term vision, ambition and future viability, for the provision of outdoor learning in North Yorkshire September 2028.
The centre at East Barnby, made up of 24 post-war prefabs, has been temporarily closed since December last year due to concerns over the electrics and wiring and NYC says it is more cost effective to pay its way out of the lease arrangement with Mulgrave Estate, than it would be to carry out the repairs needed.
Outdoor learning since December has been provided at Bewerley Park near Harrogate and will now be at Scarborough – with reduced days and only in term time.
Coun Liz Colling, chair of the Scarborough and Whitby area committee, pushed for the review to find a way of bringing provision back to the area.
She said: “The area committee would like to stress the importance of provision in the east of the county and the importance of a coastal location to take advantage of a wide range of activities the coast facilitates.
“Bewerley Park may be beautifully appointed but it is simply not in the right place or easily accessible. It is some distance from the east coast, nor able to offer the range of activities a coastal location could.
“We are aware the review will take to 2028, but we’d like to put our marker in the sand to say we are looking forward to that review and hope we will have a new facility on the east coast in due course.”
Coun Annabel Wilkinson, NYC’s Executive Member for Education, Learning and Skills, added: “This report does not propose ending outdoor learning on the East Coast. Instead, it recommends a new delivery model that maintains opportunities for our children and young people while a longer-term solution is developed.
“For many children and young people, outdoor learning offers a chance to try new experiences, build friendships, develop skills, and create memories that will stay with them for life. We want to retain those wonderful memories for future generations.”
NYC will also now enter discussions with staff and unions about re-structuring and job losses, as it was confirmed at the meeting moving the outdoor learning provision to Scarborough means contracts for staff working at East Barnby “don’t align”.
