Baildon Recreation Centre to close amid cutbacks at Bradford Council
The other nine Council run sports facilities are safe for now – including Ilkley Lido.
BAILDON Recreation Centre is due to close in April in a push to reduce Bradford Council’s leisure service budget.
Local politicians have called the plan “sad” – but one acknowledged it was “not a surprise” given the building requires over £900,000 worth of repair and maintenance work.
The decision to close the centre comes as Bradford Council completed a review of its sports facilities service – part of a wider push to cut millions from its budget.
But the other nine Council run sports facilities are safe for now – including Ilkley Lido.
A report on the plans will go to Bradford Council’s Executive next Tuesday.
Baildon Recreation Centre, on the banks of the River Aire a sports hall with facilities for racket sports and five-a-side. It also includes a dance studio and is used as a base for outdoor learning and adventure activities for schools, youth groups and community organisations.
The review pointed out that the building is in an area prone to flooding, and was badly flooded in 2015, meaning any redevelopment of the site would be limited.
It also requires over £900,000 of maintenance and repairs to keep it running.
The review says the closure will save the Council £91,000.
A report to Bradford Council’s Executive, who will meet next Tuesday, says: “Through the review work it has become evident that Baildon has a £913,000 maintenance cost requirement in order to keep it functioning. This figure does not address the significant changes the building requires to make it a modern and accessible facility.
“Operationally it hugely under-performs with an extremely low number of users, and this is a reflection of the poor customer experience the building allows.”
In response to the news, a Baildon Town Council spokesperson said: “The Town Council is surprised and concerned to learn of the proposed closure of Baildon Recreation Centre, especially as there hasn’t been direct consultation on the issue with Bradford Council.”
Councillor John Turner, Chair of Baildon Town Council, commented “The closure of the Centre would represent a loss of facilities for local residents. The matter will be discussed by the town council at the earliest opportunity and when more information becomes available.”
Councillor Mike Pollard (Cons: Baildon) said: “In the absence of any signs of movement with regard to assurance that the proposed permanent site for the Baildon Library will ever be developed and of any readily foreseeable progress regarding the Baildon Reservoirs site, it is understandable if Baildon residents are feeling a bit ‘got at’.
“However, the proposed closure of Baildon Recreation Centre hardly comes as a surprise. Spending in excess of £900k to rectify maintenance backlog for a little used facility simply couldn’t be justified, even if the Council was not so deeply in the financial mire.
“As the site is a flood mitigation ‘washland’ it can hardly be described as a saleable asset, so I am concerned that the premises may be left derelict in situ. Some financial provision does need to be made for demolition.”
The centre lies within the Shipley ward of Bradford Council. Shipley Councillor Anna Watson (Green) said: “It is sad news to hear to hear that Baildon Recreation Centre is to close.
“As Ward councillors we had had no notice of this closure and local people are also hearing about this for the first time.
“We expect Bradford Council to engage with us, Baildon Town Council and the local community to come forward with solutions to ensure people still have access to affordable sports facilities in the local area.”
Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Portfolio Holder for Healthy People and Places said: “Since February of this year we have explored the current state, utilisation, and potential of the sports infrastructure within the district. In doing so we have identified over half a million pounds worth of savings which can be made in the next two years.
“It is the case that part of these savings includes closing Baildon Recreation Centre. Although the centre is underused and in need of costly maintenance work, the decision to close it was not taken lightly.
“We are doing everything we can to avoid closing any further sporting facilities. The savings we make will with this proposal allow us to continue providing high quality sports and leisure services across the district.
“There are a small number of groups who still use the Baildon facility on a regular basis and we are working closely with them to find suitable alternative venues for them to continue their activities.”
In the Ilkley area there had been concern that the review would lead to Bradford Council pulling funding for Ilkley Lido and Pool.
There had been numerous meetings on the issue in the town, and calls for the much loved facility to be spared the chop.
The review did not suggest any cuts to the Lido or pool, and pointed out that Bradford Council had invested around £2m in the facilities in recent years.
Referring to news that Ilkley Lido and Pool was safe for now, Councillor Andrew Loy (Cons, Ilkley) said: “We welcome the decision to retain Ilkley Pool and Lido, which clearly recognises the strong demand and community support for this important asset. Generations of local families have learned to swim at this iconic location. It would have been madness to close it.
“What we need now is for the council to show a willingness to collaborate more closely with the Ilkley Pool and Lido Community Group and others in order to find new ways to secure the long-term future of the site and enhance the service on offer. We know from discussions with the group that they have so many ideas to offer.”