'Not fair' to axe leisure centre plan, say locals

Residents living near the site of a previously proposed leisure centre complex in Bradford say it is local children who will be affected the most by its cancellation.

The Reform UK-led Bradford Council recently announced the £32.9m project for Squire Lane in Girlington had been scrapped because it would cost too much money.

Plans were initially approved in 2019, and the facility would have served more than 87,000 people living within 1.5 miles (2.41km).

The authority said the project no longer represented good value for money given the council's financial position.

Council leaders recently announced a number of measures to try to balance the books, including selling off publicly owned land and buildings.

The Squire Lane development would have required councillors to approve an additional £5m in capital funding, on top of £7.9m already allocated.

A £20m government grant was funding the bulk of the project.

Mehnaz Najib, 42, who lives locally, said she was disappointed it would no longer be going ahead.

She said: "That could have really benefited our children, and now they're not going ahead with it.

"It's quite sad actually, because when you go to Leeds, there's always some kind of construction going on, but in Bradford, it's not the same.

"I understand with the council and everything, they don't have that much financial resources, but it's still not fair.

"So now there will be more children on the streets, on the roads, on the corners, where they could have had a leisure centre, where they could have spent a lot of their time."

Tayyaba Tayyaba, 39, said she was concerned that the council did not spend money where it was needed the most.

She said: "I'm very upset, because we haven't got much going on in this area.

"A leisure centre with a swimming pool and some more activities to do, I was very much looking forward to it, and it's very upsetting to know that they are not going to do it any more.

"They do need to spend a bit of money - we need green spaces, we need some place to walk around, and we need more areas like this where kids could do physical activities.

"They also need to pay a bit of attention to crime as well, but that's another story."

Annabel Rowe, 18, lives close to the proposed site.

She said: "Well I was quite excited because it brings more opportunities to the area, especially because there are quite a lot of young children here.

"I think it's in a really good area, I think I would have definitely used it. People around here would have used it.

"So it is quite sad really."

The Labour group on Bradford Council has criticised the cancellation of the plans.

In a post on Facebook, the group said: "Running a council is ultimately about trying to improve people's everyday lives, especially the least well-off.

"Reform's decision is a false economy and it shows exactly what they are about.

"It also sends the wrong message to businesses and investors who want to see confidence from the local authority that this is a city looking forwards not backwards, where better public health and regeneration are paramount."

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