Bradford Council set to sell Bingley Pool deemed “not viable to keep”

The shuttered pool that was, until recently, earmarked for a multimillion pound refurbishment and reopening, has been judged “not viable for Bradford Council to keep.”

But the authority says it is inviting the Friends of Bingley Pool group to “submit any proposals they have” for the facility, and there is hope that the pool could someday be reopened.

Late last year, the Labour Government announced that it would withdraw £14.4m in Levelling Up funding to reopen Bingley Pool, saying financial strains meant it could no longer fund the project.

The funding would have seen the pool, shut since 2020, reopened to the public.

At the time Bradford Council said it would “keep all options open.” But this week the authority has confirmed the pool building will be added to the list of assets Bradford Council plans to sell.

A Council spokesperson said: “Sadly, given the funding from the Levelling Up Fund, which was initially awarded in 2024 to redevelop Bingley Pool, is no longer available, we have conducted an extensive review of the building and concluded it is not viable for Bradford Council to keep this asset.

“It is important to note that even with the LUF money there was a significant funding gap and a requirement for a third party operator to run the pool.

“The process will begin to put Bingley Pool on the market, noting it is an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

“We have already met with the Friends of Bingley Pool to discuss the issue and have made clear we will be inviting them to submit any proposals they have as part of the disposal process.

“We understand the strength of feeling in the local community on this issue, which is why we submitted the LUF application in the first place.

“However, the current situation means it is simply not viable for us to keep the pool building any longer.”

Jeremy Thackray, co-chair of the Friends of Bingley Pool, said: “When money has been available, Bradford Council has pledged to rebuild Bingley Pool.

“This shows that the decision to declare it surplus is not about a lack of need for swimming in Bingley.

“It is about Bradford Council’s perilous finances. The Council should face up to that problem and be honest about it, rather than denying the huge demand for the pool to be reopened.

“The Friends recognise the difficulty of Bradford Council’s finances. But the answer cannot be a continuous cut-price selloff of treasured community assets.

“A community-led approach can make something positive happen in the town, and the Friends of Bingley Pool will do all they can to argue for this.”

Bingley Town Council have agreed to trigger the pool’s Asset of Community Value status – meaning any community group would have six months to put together a bid for the pool.

The Friends say they intend to use this time to negotiate a Community Asset Transfer arrangement with Bradford Council.

The group says: “Under this proposed agreement, Bradford Council would retain ownership of the building, but the Friends – and the people of Bingley – would drive the process of finding funding to restore the facility, with a full transfer of ownership to occur at a later date.”

Bingley Independent Councillor Joe Wheatley (Independent) said: “It has become quite clear that with local and national government there is no appetite to invest in leisure services.”

He said local councillors would support the Friends of Bingley Pool in finding the most realistic way to reopen the pool.

Coun Wheatley believes if a lease is granted to the group they could work on developing a scheme to bring the facility back into use, although this may take many years.