BRADFORD Council has made a £20 million bid to the Government to help fund a long planned swimming pool and leisure centre.

And the Council yesterday revealed that the plans for the Squire Lane site, near Bradford Royal Infirmary, will be much bigger than a new pool - with the proposals now being for a leisure, wellbeing and enterprise centre.

The bid will be made to Government as part of the Levelling Up Fund - which will see up to £20m available to each constituency in the UK.

The Squire Lane scheme will be Bradford Council's bid for Bradford West, with bids for other constituencies following in future rounds of funding.

If successful, the new centre would be open by 2025.

The Authority says the facility would have three "core aspects" - leisure, including a new pool, health related facilities, and activities to develop enterprise, skills and community engagement.

A leisure centre on the site was first announced over six years ago as part of a shake up of Bradford Council’s leisure services that would see Queensbury and Bingley Pools shut and the opening of a pool at Squire Lane.

The facility would include a swimming pool, gym and dance studios.

Concerns over plans to widen scope of Squire Lane leisure development

Discussions are currently underway with community groups to take over the running of Queensbury and Bingley Pools.

Work on the £10m Squire Lane scheme never started, and in 2019 it was revealed the plans were “on hold" and that any future centre would have a wider scope than just leisure facilities.

Announcing the bid yesterday, Bradford Council said the centre would address the under-provision of leisure facilities and play space in the area, boost locals' activity levels, improve health and wellbeing, stimulate an "entrepreneurial culture," and support small and micro-businesses to increase employment.

Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, said: “Bradford West is one of the most youngest constituencies in the country with significant challenges for the population which has been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential that the Levelling Up fund supports communities like this. The funding would allow us to create a vibrant asset for local people offering an extensive range of services that are tailored to the community and which make a real difference to the quality of their lives.”

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “This will be the first of a number of bids from the levelling up fund for each constituency of the district.

"Like other cities, not all bids can be in the first round, which has a strong emphasis on rapid delivery. We’re committed to ensuring we get maximum support for our district from a range of investors, including the Government, to boost growth and wellbeing for all our residents.

"Our recent success in the Keighley and Shipley towns fund bids has shown that we are effective, working in partnership, to attract the maximum levels of investment.”

Councillor Mohammed Amran, Chair of Bradford West Area Committee, said: “We welcome this bid to bring investment into Bradford West. Developing a high quality facility like this will help us tackle the wide skills gap that exists and which prevents workers and jobseekers in Bradford West getting more high-skilled and stable employment. The centre would allow us to offer community activities and training to help local people overcome some of these barriers. It would also mean that we could also offer better support to small local businesses.”

Councillor Kamran Hussain, Chair of Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “This is an ambitious proposal that would bring vital resource into the Bradford West constituency and provide local people and businesses with a great facility to support our district’s plans for a post COVID-19 recovery.”

Councillor Fozia Shaheen (Lab, Toller) said: "As a ward councillor this is fantastic news to see our bid is one that has gone into the hat. It is important the Levelling- up fund supports communities like ours. Bradford West is one of the youngest constituencies in the country and therefore such support from the Levelling- up fund would be whole-heartedly welcomed.

"The development will not only be of benefit to the residents of Toller but also everyone in the Bradford West area. This will be a huge initiative in our ward which will bring phenomenal opportunities for local people. The core elements of this new facility are very much needed in the area and such developments are welcomed.

"I am extremely excited to see this fantastic development take place in the heart of the Toller Ward. "