Bury St Edmunds: councillors decide to scrap Western Way plans

Cliff Waterman felt the risk of borrowing during the current financial climate was too great to continue with development plans

Plans to spend £75m on a replacement leisure centre have been scrapped.

The development off Western Way in Bury St Edmunds has been been debated by West Suffolk Council and its forerunner since 2016.

A full meeting of the council, which is run by a Labour-led coalition, voted to cancel the project, citing the risks of taking out a 40-year loan.

The council said money would be spent improving the existing leisure centre - extending its life by 10 years.

An amendment calling for a detailed breakdown of maintenance work on the existing leisure centre was rejected

Cliff Waterman, the Labour leader of the coalition which also includes Liberal Democrat, Green and independent councillors, said the initial plans had showed the facility would be used as "a hub serving multiple uses" but it had become "just a leisure centre".

Mr Waterman said dropping it was the "least risky option" and was "prudent and cost-effective".

"The project involved taking a loan over 40 years and a lot of assumptions which may or may not come to fruition," he said.

"We've got a perfectly good old one, so we're going to refurbish it. Perhaps the eye has been taken off the ball in terms of maintenance, but we can bring it back to very good condition."

The meeting was told a detailed breakdown of the costs of maintaining the existing centre were still being formulated by council officers.

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Nearly £2.5m had already been spent developing the new centre.

Andrew Smith, Conservative councillor for Bardwell, believed the decision was "too premature".

"The golden thread has always been to deliver a state-of-the-art leisure centre - many of us here shared and supported that vision," he said.

"These risks, perceived or real, can be mitigated. What we need is further deliberation,"

An amendment calling for a period of deliberation was defeated.

Susan Glossop, Tory councillor for Risby, said the decision would "come back to haunt" the council.

"To patch and repair the current leisure centre, and to somehow fund a new build in 10 years' time, will all cost the council," she said.

Cliff Waterman said the decision would extend the life of the existing leisure centre by 10 years

Mr Waterman said: "The benefits for the project would have been marginal... it's a motion that guarantees Bury St Edmunds will have a leisure centre."