Council pulls £5.5m for Southwell leisure centre plans

A council has withdrawn £5.5m of funding for the development of a new leisure centre.

Newark and Sherwood District Council (NSDC) had allocated the cash toward building a new swimming pool in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.

But disagreements between the Southwell Leisure Centre Trust and the council led to delays on the scheme.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, councillors voted to withdraw the funds.

The main swimming pool in Nottingham Road had been closed since October due to a leak and the council - which took over the management of the centre under a 25-year lease in 2021 - eventually decided to approve in principle the development of a new pool.

Under the plan, a new pool built adjacent to the current leisure centre was subject to an agreement of land transfer from the trust to the council.

But in January, the district council said some members of the leisure centre trust wanted the existing pool repaired before the new one was built, leading to a row which it said stalled the plan.

The trust, however, claimed it could not move forward as the council wanted the site for free, an assertion the authority denied.

Speaking at the meeting on Tuesday, cabinet chair, Paul Peacock, said: "Now is not a time for finger pointing or point scoring.

"The last five months have been a difficult time for all involved but a line has to be drawn under it.

"At this moment it does no-one any favours to rake over old ground. Particularly, it does little to help the users of Southwell Leisure Centre."

He added that a decision had to be taken to get the people of Southwell "back into a swimming pool as soon as possible".

Other councillors said during the meeting that the development of a new pool was supposed to be a "positive thing" for the people of Southwell.

The trust has been contacted for comment.

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