Green light for new Halifax leisure centre including controversial swimming pool

A majority of Calderdale councillors took the decision in closed session – press and public were excluded from the debate on grounds members on either side of the debate might refer to financially sensitive information.

The full council agreed to back Cabinet’s recommendation that it “continues to back the vision to provide a modern combined leisure and sports centre on the site of the existing one at North Bridge, Halifax, delivering the new centre in line with a cost and associated operations plan dated November 2021.”

Now this approval has been given, the go-ahead to plan demolition of the existing site and disposal of the Skircoat Road site of the existing now-closed Halifax Swimming Pool can take place.

The decision has been met with dismay by campaigners including Halifax Synchronised Swimming Club.

The club – national champions in some age groups and currently ranked third in the country – has argued against the plans because the proposed depth of the new pool will not be deep enough for their swimmers to train in it under their sport’s regulations.

Committee member at the club, Kirsty McGregor, was critical of the council’s ruling Labour administration and said they had been supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups, who opposed the proposals because of the issue, as well as Halifax’s Labour MP Holly Lynch and Calder Valley Conservative MP Craig Whittaker.

The decision could likely close the club, she said.

“We believe the council is discriminating against this sport which is almost exclusively carried out by young and teenage girls.

“If it wanted to support opportunities for all members of the local population, it could have been more ambitious in its designs and funded the higher cost using a larger grant which was available from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund,” she said.

The council has argued it would be too expensive to make design changes which would allow deep water with the Levelling Up Fund cash subject to very tight timescales – the council risked losing it if these could not be met.

It has also said the proposals will bring to Calderdale a state-of-the-art centre with a modern gym, six-lane pool, sports hall, wellness suite and adventure climb are just some of the state-of-the-art features which will support people of all ages and abilities to be more active and healthier, whilst bringing more people into the town centre to connect with others and support the local economy.

And previously the council has said the pool will meet the needs of 98 per cent of previous pool users.

Councillors also agreed to incorporate the capital sum detailed in the report, which was not publicly available but available to councillors, into the council’s Capital Programme, to be funded by prudential borrowing, and to incorporate money to service the borrowing into the council’s revenue budget over the coming years.

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