Axing of leisure centre 'called in' for review

A decision to scrap plans for a new sports and leisure centre in Bradford is to be formally challenged by councillors amid claims the move is "very short-sighted".

Bradford Council's Reform UK executive voted last month to discontinue the proposed Squire Lane leisure facility in Girlington, which would have included a public swimming pool.

The decision to axe the project was taken after the cost of the scheme increased, with the council being asked to approve up to £5m in additional borrowing.

But Labour councillor Rizwana Jamil, who has formally "called in" the decision for scrutiny, said: "It shouldn't always be about money. It's about the facilities we provide to our communities."

A cross-party scrutiny panel will consider the executive's decision on Wednesday and has the power to send it back for reconsideration.

The proposed Squire Lane development already has £20m of government funding attached to it, which would have to be returned if the scheme did not go ahead.

Jamil, herself chair of the council's Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said the funding could not simply be transferred to another leisure project elsewhere in Bradford.

She said she understood the financial pressures behind the executive's decision but believed abandoning the project on cost grounds failed to take account of its wider benefits.

"It's very short-sighted on their part," she said.

"It's not about just the investment, just the cost which is going in. It's all about the long-term implications and the long-term effects of this project."

Last month, the Reform-led executive had been asked to increase the project's capital budget from £27.9m to £32.9m and authorise additional borrowing of up to £5m, although up to £1.1m of that could potentially have been met through other contributions.

The executive instead decided to discontinue the project amid concerns about the council's financial position.

However, the formal call-in argues the decision also needs to be considered in the context of health and economic inequalities in the Bradford West area.

A new council report prepared by officers stresses that the area experiences disproportionately high levels of deprivation, physical inactivity, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and poor mental health.

It says Bradford West's lack of a publicly accessible swimming pool creates a barrier to physical activity and argues investment should be targeted at areas where the need is greatest.

Jamil also questioned what would happen to the proposed development site if the scheme remained cancelled.

"Does it just remain there as a derelict site, which would obviously attract anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping?" she said.

The fresh debate over the Squire Lane project comes as new BBC research found children at English primary schools with more pupils on free school meals were less likely to leave able to swim 25m.

Figures showed some schools in Bradford had as little as 10% of pupils able to swim.

Councillor Susan Fricker, chair of Bradford Council's Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which will examine the executive's decision, said the "call in" meeting on Wednesday would hear from all key people in the chain before making its recommendations.

She said the project had the necessary consents in place and had been designed to meet "a range of social, community, public health and educational needs".

Fricker admitted losing the £20m government contribution could also make building a case for funding for any new pool in the future "extremely challenging".

However, she also noted the additional capital being sought "would increase the burden on the council's financial situation".

"The committee will listen to the officers, listen to the executive and make the decision on that," she said.

The scrutiny panel has three options: to let the executive's decision stand; to send the decision back to the executive and ask it to reconsider; or refer the decision to full council, but only if the committee considers the decision breaches the council's policy.

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