'Dither and delay' - Cost of new delayed Newcastle leisure centre skyrockets to £40m

Flagship plans to open a state-of-the-art sports complex in West Denton have suffered repeated setbacks since being unveiled in 2021.

While it was hoped that the facility would be ready to open in summer 2024, construction is yet to even start on the Levelling Up Fund-backed scheme. And Newcastle City Council is now seeking approval for a fresh cash injection to cover the escalating cost of the development.

A report, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, now states that the budget for the leisure centre project must be increased to £39.93 million if it is to go ahead without further delay. That has jumped substantially from a £26.5 million funding package agreed in October 2022, which itself was an increase on an originally £22.3 million budget.

The council has repeatedly insisted that the leisure centre will be built despite the difficulties posed by inflation, with the outer west of the city having been without a leisure centre since the old West Denton pool was closed in 2020 and later demolished alongside the area’s library and customer service centre to make way for the promised redevelopment.

But the escalating bill had led to mounting concerns about the cost to taxpayers, with the city’s Lib Dem opposition set to take the latest funding request to a special call-in hearing at the council’s overview and scrutiny committee this Thursday.

Lib Dem councillor Mike Cookson said the move was not intended to cause further delay “but to seek clarification that the development as a whole is sustainably funded, and meets the needs of the residents”.

He added: “In order to fund the capital cost of the project, the cabinet are proposing to use funds currently allocated to other projects elsewhere in the city. That could impact other residents of the city far beyond the outer west.”

The proposed funding package for the leisure centre now includes £11.2 million worth of Community Infrastructure Levy funding, a charge collected from developers, as well as a £1.4 million loan from the North East Combined Authority and a further £2.6 million of borrowing.

That comes on top of the original £19.8 million Government grant approved in 2021, £2.5 million from Sport England, and £1.8 million from the council’s reserves. The report states that the leisure centre is still deemed value for money but that ways to drive down costs further would be explored.

It adds that an estimated £4 million had been saved by the decision to terminate a previous contract with builders Willmott Dixon, with the council now seeking to appoint Morgan Sindall to build the centre.

Marc Donnelly, an independent councillor in the Chapel ward, said he backed the council’s decision to keep investing in the scheme to ensure that residents in the outer west “receive the same benefits as enjoyed by others”.

He added:  “The Outer West Pool has been closed since 2020 and demolished in 2023.  To date no foundation has been laid and residents have been without the use of the facility for five years.  With a current date of opening now placed at 2027 that will be seven years.  This would have meant that from young and old alike many will have lost the valuable experience and benefits of swimming.

“Whilst no doubt many questions can be asked now is not the time to dither and delay.  Money is proposed to be used from the housing developments.  However, outer west residents deserve this priority knowing the scale of the housing developments and the greater tax base around the outer west.”

Planning permission was granted last week for a revised version of the leisure centre designs, with the proposals having been redrawn to cut costs – including through the removal of a green roof and rain garden, and changes to the external appearance of the building.

That was approved despite concerns from council planners about it no longer delivering the “sense of high-quality design” seen in the original vision.

A council spokesperson said: “The construction of a new leisure centre and swimming pool complex in the Outer West is a hugely exciting project for the city that will offer residents first class facilities.

“Members of Overview and Scrutiny Coordination Committee have taken the decision to look at the project in more detail and ask questions of senior officers who are leading on the project.

“This scrutiny role is an important function of being an elected representative and part of the council’s recognised procedures.”