The council's executive has voted to stop work on the long‑standing Squire Lane leisure centre proposal, effectively abandoning a project that officers said was ready to go and which relied on a major government grant.
Decision and financial reasoning
Members of the Reform UK‑led executive overcame officers' advice and voted to scrap the scheme, citing concerns about value for money and the authority's overall financial position. The proposed facility was costed at £32.9m and had secured a central government contribution of £20m under Levelling Up funding.
"This project does not, in our opinion, demonstrate good fiscal management and deliver value," said council deputy leader Andrew Judson.
Council officers had asked councillors to approve an additional £5m in capital funding on top of the £7.9m already allocated. They said that for an extra borrowing commitment of around £3.9m the council would retain the £20m external investment and move the scheme into construction, with a projected opening in autumn 2028.
What the officers warned
Bradford's strategic director for growth, David Shepherd, told the meeting that the city’s public swimming facilities were ageing and in need of investment. Officers described the Squire Lane proposal as a "fully developed scheme" with planning approval and serving more than 87,000 people living within 1.5 miles of the site.
They also warned of immediate financial consequences if the scheme was halted: the likely loss of the £20m government grant and that about £5.4m already spent on design and development could be at risk.
Local impact and practical implications
If the Squire Lane project goes ahead, officers said it would address a longstanding shortage of swimming provision in parts of Bradford. With most pools described as more than 35 years old and some dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, keeping existing facilities in working order will require continued maintenance and potentially rising costs.
- Project cost: £32.9m
- Government Levelling Up grant: £20m (at risk)
- Council funding already allocated: £7.9m
- Additional capital requested: £5m
- Estimated additional borrowing: £3.9m
- Design/development costs potentially at risk: £5.4m
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total project cost | £32.9m |
| Government grant | £20m |
| Council funds already allocated | £7.9m |
| Additional council ask | £5m |
The executive argued the council must prioritise creating a financially resilient authority following recent fiscal difficulties and that the leisure project no longer represented good value in that context.
Consequences and next steps
Officers cautioned that rejecting the scheme could leave Bradford reliant on older facilities that demand increasing maintenance and might not meet future community needs. They also indicated the possibility of losing the sizeable government grant if the authority did not proceed.
For residents, the immediate practical effects are likely to be continued use of existing pools and uncertain prospects for new, modern facilities in the near term. The council has not published an alternative plan for replacing or upgrading the city’s ageing leisure estate at the meeting reported.
The decision is a notable example of the tensions local authorities face between delivering capital projects and managing constrained finances. It will be important to watch whether the council seeks alternative funding sources or revisits the scheme in the future.
