Council urged to not let opportunity to re-open pool be 'lost'

The call comes as a local Parliamentary candidate accused the council of trying to block the reopening of the pool, an accusation described as “an absurd conspiracy theory” by one councillor.

At a meeting of Bradford Council’s Executive on Tuesday, members were given an update on the £14.5m Levelling Up fund awarded to the town in March.

The main thrust of the funding is the re-opening of Bingley Pool, and a report to the meeting gave a number of options for how this would be achieved.

But it also warned extra funding would likely need to be identified for the project to go ahead.

At the meeting members also discussed an alternative option for the pool’s future – “bundling” the building up with the neighbouring Bingley Town Hall as part of a wider redevelopment scheme.

This plan had been in the early stages before the Levelling Up bid was successful, and was seen as a “plan B".

Concerns were raised during the meeting that the report seemed to hint that extra costs above the money awarded by Government could halt the pool reopening project.

Councillor Geoff Winnard (Cons, Bingley Rural) said: “My big concern is that this is £14.5m committed by Government as a once and forever offer.

“It would be a great shame if this opportunity was lost.

“I understand the financial problems the council is under, and understand that this is not straightforward, but if there is a political commitment to having a pool in Bingley there must be a way of getting it done.

“We mustn’t let this opportunity for the people of Bingley fall through. Some people think the council will string us along and finally decide the work is not going to be feasible.

In response, Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “We’ve all been wanting this to happen for some time, so seeing this investment is positive, but we need Government to work with us to make this work."

Bingley Pool (Image: Newsquest)

Jeremy Thackray, chairman of Friends of Bingley Pool addressed the meeting saying the awarding of funding was “the most positive moment to date” in reopening the pool.

He urged the council to write to Government ministers, as well as bodies like the National Lottery to secure any extra funding needed for the scheme.

He suggested the plan to include the Town Hall in any development be scrapped, saying: “We’ve moved on from the spa hotel idea – the pool has to be the focus.”

He told the Executive the pool needed to be a “six-lane, competitive pool of the best standards". 

Sir Philip, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the Shipley constituency issued a release shortly before the meeting, accusing the council of being “desperate to find a way to block re-opening the pool". 

His statement included a document saying the council had “sufficient budget” to deliver the scheme, and says it “accepts responsibility for meeting any costs over and above the Government contribution requested".

It was signed by Chief Finance Officer Chris Chapman in June 2022.

The statement from Sir Philip, who was MP when the bid was successful, said: “The Levelling Up bid submitted by Bradford Council, which was signed off by me as the Shipley MP, was also signed off by the council’s finance director who said there was sufficient budget for the pool. 

“It seems to me more likely that it is Labour stirring the pot trying to deprive the residents of Bingley their pool, which the Government is paying for, because Bradford Council don’t believe Bingley should have a swimming pool.

“Labour are still desperate to find a way to block re-opening the swimming pool in Bingley.”

At the meeting, Councillor Alex Ross Shaw, executive for regeneration, planning and Transport, said: “As a council, we put in a major funding bid for this project. The idea we did this but didn’t actually want to go ahead with it is an absurd conspiracy theory put forward by Philip Davies.

“We’re extremely keen to get this over the line.”

He referred to the fact that the Bingley Pool bid was initially refused by the Government in January 2023 before being approved this March – almost two years after the bid was submitted and signed off.

Cllr Ross-Shaw added: “We lost a year, and costs of the scheme have gone up, so we have to do these reports. We’re not laying ground for not doing this – we’re explaining what needs to be done to get this over the line.”