Councillors have enthusiastically approved plans to convert Ripon’s historic Spa Baths.

Sterne Properties, which is based in the city, is behind the scheme which will create four homes, commercial units and office space on the site.

Part of the building will be open to the public and a link between the former baths and the adjacent Spa Gardens will be created from a courtyard area.

The Spa Baths were first opened in 1905 by Princess Henry of Battenberg and generations of families have learned to swim there.

Harrogate Borough Council decided to sell the building in 2021 and move to the new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lane in 2022.

Councillors on the Skipton and Ripon planning committee were told that the council still owns the building with a sale dependent on planning permission being granted.

When Harrogate council put the baths up for sale there were fears in the city that the site could fall into disrepair and eventually be lost.

Ripon City Council considered taking it on as a community asset but judged the work of restoring the listed building too expensive.

Cllr Peter Horton from the council told the planning committee that it fully supports the developer’s aspirations for the baths and was glad it stepped in.

He said: “Ripon City Council were somewhat concerned when the baths closed the site would fall into dereliction. We considered developing it into a leisure centre but it was not financially viable. We’re glad to see a developer who has plans to regenerate the whole site.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Barbara Brodigan, whose Ure Bank & Spa division includes the baths, said the area was undergoing a renaissance which the baths project would contribute to.

Cllr Brodigan added: “The developer has a good track record of restoring buildings sympathetically in Ripon. It’s sad to see the state the spa baths have fallen into since closure. This application is long overdue.”

Whilst agreeing that the scheme would boost Ripon, Cllr David Noland (Green Party, Skipton North & Embsay-with-Eastby) said it was a “tragedy” that the swimming pool would be demolished.

The developer has pledged to reuse bricks from the pool as part of the new apartment block.

The pool was added to the baths in the 1930s following the decline of the spa era.

Ripon councillor Andrew Williams reminded Cllr Noland that the council had just built a new state-of-the-art pool, albeit one that has gone several million pounds over budget.

Cllr Nick Brown (Conservative, Wathvale & Bishop Monkton) also backed the spa baths plans. He said: “The sooner it gets built the better”.

“Ripon needs new development to grow and become prosperous,” Cllr Brown added.

The plans were approved by councillors unanimously.