New multi-million pound Halifax leisure centre proposals look to be signed off at full council

Cabinet have recommended to the full meeting of Calderdale Council 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.

Subject to this being approved, 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 has been given by Cabinet, and full council is also asked to approve construction works be procured through the UK Leisure Framework, allowing direct appointment of a development partner.

When Cabinet discussed the issue members of the public and the media were not allowed to stay for that section of the meeting due to financial or business issues being debated.

But full council is recommended to incorporate the capital sum detailed in the report, which was not publically available but available to councillors, into the council’s Capital Programme, to be funded by prudential borrowing up to the maximum figure detailed in it to allow for lower than expected levels of grant funding from the Sport England Strategic Facilities Fund.

They are also asked to incorporate the additional sum of revenue funding detailed in the report, required to service the net borrowing and provide for the contingencies, into the council’s revenue budget from 2023-24 onwards – although the overall figure is in the limited access document this will mean £100,000 in 2022-23.

The project has been highly controversial with some users of the old pool saying the proposed depth of the replacement poll in the new centre would not be deep enough for some sports, including synchronised swimming, to be carried out and the council counter-arguing to redsign it would bring increased cost and Government grant funding deadline issues into the mix.

The full council meets at Halifax Town Hall from 6pm next Wednesday, February 9.

Other decisions councillors will also have to take include whether or not to support Cabinet’s recommendation to add £2.076 million to the council’s capital programme including £350,000 of prudential borrowing, and also agree £23,000 revenue funding to service the borrowing, in order to, subject to a successful grant application, put in a new heating system at Todmorden Sports Centre.

The council has submitted a bid to the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme phase three for £1.726 million funding to replace the existing system which is at the end of its life.

Cabinet also recommends councillors approve adding £2.6 million to the council’s capital programme specifically for essential health and safety works required on parts of its estate, to be funded by prudential borrowing, and approve the additional £169,000 revenue funding required to service that borrowing being added to the Council’s revenue budget from 2022-23 onwards.

Councillors will be asked to approve Cabinet’s recommendation to adopt a range of capital and investment strategies which including setting debt limits the council will not be able to exceed over the next three years – authorised limits of £171 million, £164 million and £157 million for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively (with operational boundary figures of £163 million, £157 million and £149 million respectively for those years).

They will also asked to approve adoption of a cultural strategy for Calderdale, which aims to promote and benefit all communities within the borough as well as building on the importance of tourism to the economy, and adoption of a Green and Healthy Streets policy, which improve the quality of local environments in the borough.

Councillors are also being asked to approve a process for appointment of external auditors, who regularly report and produce an annual report on the council’s financial resilience, for the five years from April 1, 2023.

They are also being asked to approve the council’s Standards Committee recommendations over the members’ allowances scheme for the next 12 months, with an increase in allowances in May 2022 in line with the rate given to local government staff, and Governance and Business Committee’s recommendation to approve the council’s pay policy statement for 2022-23 – a legal responsibility.