Bury St Edmunds leisure centre predicted to cost £61 million
West Suffolk Council will vote on whether to approve the project next Tuesday
Last updated 1st Dec 2022
The leisure centre phase of the Western Way development at Bury St Edmunds has a projected cost of around £61 million.
West Suffolk Council’s cabinet will vote on whether to approve the Western Way project review next Tuesday, which will support the building of a leisure centre as part of its first phase.
A final review of the project will be taken in March 2023, in preparation for work to begin that year.
Plans for Western Way have changed since they were approved by the council in late 2019 and achieved planning consent in 2021 – including the decision to deliver it in multiple phases taken in June 2021.
The NHS had plans to provide a large community health facility on the site. In September this year, it stated more time was needed to complete its business case due to new financial rules, meaning the health facility will not be provided in phase one.
The removal of the NHS facility from phase one has reduced its size to 40 percent of the entire application site and the projected costs from around £100 million to around £61 million.
According to the officers’ report: “In simple terms, the decision about phase one of Western Way is now fundamentally a decision about continuing to provide a leisure centre in Bury St Edmunds”.
The new leisure centre will replace the existing one in Beetons Way, which is over 50 years old and in a poor condition.
Cllr Jo Rayner, portfolio holder for leisure, culture and community hubs, said: “Delivering a new leisure centre in West Suffolk will significantly benefit the current and future community.
“Anyone who uses the current centre will know it is very tired and in urgent need of an upgrade. Which is challenging in the current financial climate.
“By taking this new phased approach and staying within our existing budgets, we can still provide the new, bigger and better facilities people have told us they want to see – and at the same time tackle health inequalities, improve the mental and physical wellbeing of local people and encourage everyone to become more active.
“This is what we have already seen in our other hub projects in other towns in West Suffolk.”
The spending limits for phase one will be £65 million, with £10 million more allowed for interim works towards phase two of the site.
The likely cost of the new leisure centre has increased by £9 million to just under £40 million since 2021 – a result of inflation and an expansion to cope with expected population growth, according to the report. The main pool will have eight lanes under current plans, rather than the six originally planned.
The centre is also expected to have a fun pool and learner pool, as well as a sports hall, studios, a gym and a soft-play area.
Phase one might include office space, the West Suffolk branch of the Suffolk Archive and/or a pre-school. Suffolk County Council is investigating the potential for relocating this part of the archive from its current spot in Ipswich.
It is proposed that a business case for phase two is brought to councillors before the end of the phase one construction period and when the outcome of the NHS’ business case process is known.
After being discussed by cabinet next Tuesday, the first phase of Western Way will go to full council on December 13.