(Image: Bradford Council)
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Search the Public Notice Portal PLANNING applications relating to a recently-scrapped swimming pool in Bradford have been withdrawn by the council.
Squire Lane Leisure Centre had been in the planning stages for over a decade, but last month Bradford Council’s new Reform UK-led Executive announced they would not be moving ahead with the centre, saying the authority could not afford the scheme – which was estimated to cost around £32.9 million.
The Government had committed a £20m grant towards the development – a grant that is now likely to be pulled, as it cannot be used for any other scheme.
The council has already spent over £5m in preparing the site, near Bradford Royal Infirmary, drawing up plans for the building, and submitting and securing planning permission.
Plans withdrawn
Permission for the leisure centre was approved earlier this year, but before any development could take place, a number of conditions would need to be met.
These would include the submissions of construction plans for the development, a “dust risk assessment,” details of how trees on the site will be protected, plans for how waste water will be disposed of, a report on how possible crimes on the site would be prevented and reports detailing and how the site will provide a “net gain” in biodiversity - something required for all major developments.
Two planning applications seeking to discharge these conditions were submitted to the council’s planning department in June, before the scheme was scrapped.
The two applications are made up of hundreds of pages of reports between them.
Those applications have now been withdrawn, just days after a Council committee voted to uphold the Executive’s decision to scrap the pool.
An artist's impression of the scrapped Squire Lane scheme
(Image: Bradford Council)
New zebra crossing?
One document in the report says the scheme was being developed as “part of Bradford Council’s broader strategy to modernise and improve the city’s leisure infrastructure by replacing older buildings with more sustainable and cost-effective alternatives.”
A Crime Impact Assessment included in the application says: “As a public space that will attract diverse users and operates for extended hours the leisure centre must be supported by robust security measures to ensure community safety, minimise risk exposure, and promote long term resilience.”
But it said the pool could improve crime in the area, adding: “The Squire Lane Leisure Centre represents a significant investment in the city's social infrastructure, with the potential to positively influence crime reduction, by providing accessible recreational, educational, and health focused services, the centre aims to engage residents, particularly youth, in constructive activities that foster community cohesion and reduce anti-social behaviour.”
The development would also have seen £15,000 spent on a new zebra crossing on Squire Lane, which would benefit pupils of nearby Bradford Girl’s Grammar School.
The Telegraph & Argus has asked Bradford Council if this crossing scheme will also be scrapped, but has yet to receive a response.