OVER £4 MILLION worth of work will need to be done to Bingley Pool before it can re-open, according to Bradford Council.

The eye watering figure was revealed as the Council announced Bingley will be the focus of a "Levelling Up" bid for the Shipley Constituency.

If the bid is successful the Government cash could be used to "invest in new culture, leisure and commercial opportunities" for the town, which could include the pool.

The Council's announcement came after a Bingley councillor spoke of the "never ending frustration" experienced by resident's over the lengthy pool saga.

Bradford Council announced plans to close the pool several years ago as part of a shake up of its leisure facilities.

Since then a local group Friends of Bingley Pool have been in discussions with the Council regarding taking over the facility.

But in recent months Bradford Council has been criticised for a lack of communication over the pool's future.

This week the Council announced that the pool would likely be part of the "Levelling Up" bid to Government for the Shipley Constituency. The Government fund allows each Parliamentary constituency in the country to bid for up to £20m for a specific project.

This Summer the Council made a bid for the Bradford West area for a leisure facility at Squire Lane. This led to questions why no such bid had been proposed to save Bingley's Pool.

This week Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We are excited about making Bingley the focus for the Shipley Constituency Levelling Up bid.

£20m bid to government for new leisure and wellbeing centre at Squire Lane

"The Levelling up fund, is asking local authorities to bid for projects that enhance their local areas and economies. The Council has submitted one bid and intends to make further bids to the fund for projects in each constituency of the district in the next rounds of funding, subject to the government committing to the next round and the scope of the fund.

“As part of the Bingley bid we will look at the potential to invest in new culture, leisure and commercial opportunities for Bingley to benefit local residents. This will be looked at when the next round of funding is announced. We will also engage with the Friends of Bingley Pool and other interested parties to look at the options for Bingley Pool and the Town Hall and these can be included in the proposals.

“Currently Bingley Pool is unfortunately having to stay closed due to its present condition. Estimates for the work needed to extend the life of the pool range up to £4.25million.

"These are only estimates and the pool is 94 years old and costs could escalate. We will continue to communicate and engage with representatives of Friends of Bingley Pool along with key stakeholders and local residents during the coming months and during the development of the proposals for the bids moving forward.

“We know that these bids work best when we work with partners and develop ambitious proposals for the benefit of our residents. We will look into the plans for Bingley and what we hope to achieve when we get more information about the Levelling Up Fund but we are committed to submitting bids for each constituency in our district to boost growth and wellbeing for our residents.”

At a meeting of the Council on Tuesday, before the bid was announced, Councillor David Heseltine (Cons, Bingley) asked about the timetable for Bingley Pool. He said residents had felt a "seemingly never ending frustration felt by Bingley residents" due to not having received a "single substantive response" over the facility's future.

Fears for future of Bingley swimming pool

A response from the Council's Executive pointed out that the pool was first earmarked for closure in 2008, under a Conservative led Council, and said the proposed closure was down to the building's age.

It added: "It has not been possible to reopen the pool in its present condition due to health and safety issues, which include cracks appearing in the concrete frame that holds the swimming pool and the ornamental plaster on the ceiling becoming loose and part subsequently falling off from a height of 10 metres, both of which render the pool unsafe."

It said "extensive surveys" were needed to assess the full state of the pool.

After the announcement Councillor Marcus Dearden (Lab, Bingley) said: "I consider this the best opportunity we have had in decades to regenerate our town and stimulate growth and prosperity that is needed and long overdue.

"The funding would provide a real opportunity to look at all the council assets within Bingley and identify how best they can be developed, ensuring economic growth, increase employment and visitors to our town.

"I am obviously concerned to hear of the extent of the repairs needed. I’m told the scale of the repairs could cost £4.25 million and maybe more. I’ve asked for more detail on these repair costs."