Council: Could Halifax Swimming Pool be saved from demolition and reopened after North Bridge plan stalled?

That is according to senior Calderdale councillors who say renovating the currently-shut pool on Skircoat Road has not been ruled out as a way to address a lack of leisure provision in Halifax.

Calderdale Conservatives tabled a motion at a full meeting of the council saying discontinuing the development of a new leisure centre at North Bridge will leave the town “without leisure facilities for the foreseeable future and possibly for years to come.”

Partial demolition of the existing leisure centre at North Bridge, planned demolition of the old pool building and the closure of sports centres at Mixenden Activity Centre and the Threeways Centre in Ovenden had reduced options further, they argued.

The party’s group leader Coun Steven Leigh (Con, Ryburn) said: “So there is a problem, there is a crisis.”

He feared £12.2 million of Government funding for the pool project might be lost if not used in time.

The motion was defeated, with a Labour amendment winning out that commits the council to implementing a full review of options for leisure provision available in the current financial climate. The review is to be completed within 12 months.

Labour argued the spiralling rate of inflation and cost of living crisis was hitting councils across the country, particularly those in the North after a decade of austerity cuts, resulting in the new leisure centre project having to be paused.

Salford Council has cancelled plans for a major new leisure centre and there were widespread reports of temporary pool closures, including at neighbouring Kirklees, said Labour.

Coun George Robinson (Con, Hipperholme and Lightcliffe) said the amendment removed the obligation to halt demolition work on the Halifax Swimming Pool building.

“If it’s off the table, write it down – but it’s not in there,” he said.

Coun Adam Wilkinson (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) responded: “The amendment says quite clearly the council had made commitment to a full review of all options of leisure provision including refurbishment of existing premises alongside new provision.”

Another option available would be just building a new swimming pool and looking to extend it in the future if resources became available, said Coun Paul Bellenger (Lib Dem, Greetland and Stainland).

Councillors raised concerns about recent activity seen at the closed pool building but Cabinet Member for Public Services, Coun Jenny Lynn (Lab, Park) stressed the current work is only to remove asbestos.

Regarding the paused plans for the new leisure centre, Coun Lynn said: “We have not ditched the development at North Bridge – we have paused it to take stock.”

Earlier, asking which Cabinet member had taken the decision to pause the project and why the “true situation” facing financing of the project was not broached earlier, Coun Leigh said: “This has been shrouded in mystery, secrecy and lack of transparency.”

Coun Scullion refuted this and said Cabinet decisions were collective.

Information provided at the full council meeting at the end of September was accurate at that time, she said.