Plans for £27m activity hub could be put on hold
Councillors are being asked to put the £27.5m scheme on hold
At a glance
The £27.5m activity hub was supposed to replace Bedworth's old leisure centre
Councillors are being asked to agree to putting on hold the plans due to inflationary pressures
The project's costs could have risen to £34m, the council says
- Published
Plans for a new physical activity hub, replacing a 1970s leisure centre, could be put on hold.
The £27.5m scheme, paid for in part by the government's levelling up fund, was due to be built on the Miners’ Welfare Park in Bedworth, Warwickshire.
But amid "substantial inflationary pressures", Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough councillors are being advised there should be a review of the project and funding available.
Costs could have escalated to more than £34m, a council report said.
Work had initially been expected to start on the centre in 2022
The report to January's cabinet meeting says newly-identified extensive groundworks would be required for the building, as well as "significant inflation to construction costs".
The project was set to be funded by council borrowing and a number of grants, including £2m from Sport England and £14.95m from the government.
Council leader Kris Wilson said the authority had an "overriding duty" to ensure the project was "affordable and deliverable".
"When we originally budgeted for the project, no one could have predicted the extraordinary financial pressures we are now facing," he said.
A delay would allow the council to identify potential funding options, he explained.
Construction had been planned to start in 2022 and was expected to take two years.