Bradford Council keeping 'all options open' after funding cut for Bingley Pool
Late last year the Labour Government announced that it would likely withdraw £14.4m funding to reopen Bingley Pool.
Last updated 1st Apr 2025
BRADFORD Council says it is keeping “all options open” for the future of a pool building after funding to reopen the facility was officially withdrawn.
Late last year the Labour Government announced that it would likely withdraw £14.4m funding to reopen Bingley Pool.
And earlier this month it was confirmed that the money was indeed being pulled.
Bradford Council said it was “not the decision that we wanted” but that it was “keeping all options open” for the future of the site.
The £14.4m was awarded to Bradford Council through the then Conservative Government’s Levelling Up fund.
The money would go towards the Revitalising Bingley project. As well as the reopening of the pool, the project would see Bingley market square become partially covered to encourage greater use by stall holders all year round.
A new arts trail and public realm work would link the square, pool and Main Street.
But after a change in Government last year, it was announced that the funding would likely be pulled, with top Labour figures claiming the Conservatives had not actually budgeted for the grant.
A letter recently sent from the Government to Bradford Council said: “The extremely challenging fiscal environment this government inherited meant that many difficult choices have been required on how to prioritise funding within extremely tight budgets.
“It is with regret that, having considered all responses, we have reached the conclusion that we can no longer fund this project.”
The pool was shut in 2020 as part of cost cutting measures by Bradford Council.
On news that the new funding had been withdrawn, a Bradford Council spokesperson said: “It’s not the decision that we wanted, and that people worked so hard for.
“It was surprising that money for Bingley Pool was found just before the general election, having bid for it two years earlier and having seen it previously rejected.
“We’ll now need to consider next steps for the site itself, but will be keeping all options open and of course continue to make the case for investment into Bingley as a priority.”
The Friends of Bingley Pool have worked to retain the town centre facility since the closure was first announced.
After the withdrawal of funding was officially announced, the group posted an update on their website. It said they expect the pool building to be put on the list of assets Bradford Council looks to sell in the near future.
“Bingley Town Council has agreed that, in the event of the building going up for sale, they will activate its Asset of Community Value status. This will pause the sale for six months to allow for a community bid.
“Our intention is to put together a business case convincing Bradford Council to either run a public-private procurement exercise for the building’s regeneration, or to hand over the building to us for management. We may even consider capital fundraising to purchase the site.
“To achieve this, the Friends of Bingley Pool will have to change how we operate. We are transitioning again, away from lobbying those who hold the power and the purse strings, and towards being a group that can potentially renovate and run the facility ourselves, as we were back before the pool’s closure in 2020. It’ll take imagination, hard work, and good fortune.
It’s tempting to think of the last year as a wasted one, spent on a wild goose chase after national political issues. Instead, it’s useful to think of it as having taught us a lesson: if the people of Bingley want to get a pool back, we likely have to do it ourselves.”
The funding was announced as part of the Conservative’s Spring Budget in April 2024. The announcement came as a surprise to many, as it came just two years after the same funding bid had been rejected by Government.
At the time of the rejection, then Shipley MP Philip Davies claimed the bid, put together by Bradford Council, had been “deemed not good enough for consideration” by ministers. Criticising the Council for the bid failing, he added: “I am absolutely livid.”
When then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the funding last April, Government said the bid had “scored highly” on its funding criteria.