Campaigners in Bingley are urging Bradford Council to divert money from a recently cancelled leisure centre scheme towards reopening Bingley Pool, which has been closed since the Covid lockdown in 2020 and has fallen into disrepair.
Cancellation frees up tens of millions
Last week Bradford Council's executive, led by Reform UK, voted to scrap plans for a new leisure centre on Squire Lane in Girlington. The project was costed at around £32m and had been financed by two main sources: a £20m Levelling Up Fund grant and roughly £7.9m of council capital.
Council leaders said the Squire Lane plan did not "demonstrate good fiscal management and deliver value", and that proceeding would have required an additional £5m of locally approved capital on top of the funds already secured.
Campaigners press for Bingley investment
Members of the Friends of Bingley Pool and local councillors say the decision presents an opportunity to save their shuttered pool. The facility has been out of operation since the 2020 lockdown, and earlier this month the council paused plans to sell the site by placing a six-month hold after it had been listed as a disposable asset.
- Campaigners want funds from the cancelled Squire Lane project reallocated to refurbish and reopen Bingley Pool.
- The Levelling Up element of the Squire Lane funding is likely to be reclaimed by central government under the grant's rules.
- The council has already indicated the Squire Lane scheme would have served more than 87,000 people within 1.5 miles, and had planning approval.
"This cancellation releases significant capital funding and we will be pressing hard to ensure that money is redirected to Bingley Pool. Our community has waited long enough," said Cllr Falak Naz Ahmed.
Jeremy Thackray, chair of the Friends of Bingley Pool, said the group would make a case that some of the freed funding could be used for the Bingley project. He also noted the pool had previously been considered for Levelling Up money.
What happens to the Levelling Up grant?
Under the terms attached to the Levelling Up Fund, the £20m grant tied to Squire Lane is likely to be returned to central government if it cannot be reassigned to an approved project. The council has warned that, despite the cancellation, some locally held capital could remain available, but the precise sum that could be redeployed to other projects in the district is not yet clear.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Levelling Up grant (Squire Lane) | £20m |
| Bradford Council capital allocated | £7.9m |
| Additional capital that would have been required | £5m |
Local campaigners now face two practical hurdles: persuading the council to reallocate any locally held capital and clarifying whether the Levelling Up element can be repurposed for Bingley. The council's decision notice makes clear the Levelling Up funding is contingent on delivering the approved scheme, which complicates direct transfer to alternative projects.
The cancellation also raises wider questions about how Bradford will meet demand for community leisure space across the district. The Squire Lane scheme had been quoted as serving more than 87,000 people in its immediate catchment and had secured planning permission before its termination.
For Bingley residents and campaigners, the coming weeks will be critical. They will seek formal assurances from the council about capital reallocation and press government officials on the possibility of redirecting Levelling Up monies that were previously earmarked for the Girlington development.
