New West Denton leisure centre faces rising costs

An eight-lane swimming pool will be among the facilities at the new complex

A leisure centre due to be built in Newcastle faces "incredibly challenging" pressures as costs rise and its opening date is pushed back, council bosses have warned.

Work is set to begin shortly on the complex in West Denton, which will include swimming pools, exercise facilities and a library.

It will replace the defunct West Denton Pool and the existing West Denton library and customer service centre.

The cost has risen from £22.3m to £26m.

Initially due to open in summer 2024, the local authority is now expecting the date to be December of that year.

The centre is being largely funded by a £19.8m grant from the government's Levelling Up Fund (LUF) but the council is set to submit a bid for further funding to Sport England to meet the higher cost, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Significant investment'

Local authorities across the country have been left worrying that major building projects receiving LUF money could be hit by rising inflation and escalating costs.

Plans for the new centre were approved by the council in August

Lesley Storey, cabinet member for leisure, said the project was "incredibly challenging, there is no doubt about it" but that she still had faith it would come to fruition.

The Labour councillor told a cabinet meeting: "We are robustly project-managing this programme and although there are some slips on the timescales they are entirely understandable and we feel that we are in a very, very good place with this project."

Liberal Democrat opposition leader Nick Cott said there was "a lot riding on this for the council and the reputation of the leadership".

Council leader Nick Kemp told the meeting: "It is a significant development, a significant investment that is now is the midst of some of the more significant challenges that any local government could ever face.

"We are acutely aware of the risk, but at the same time we need to drive forward and keep the commitment to it."