A GLIMMER of hope is on the horizon for a village swimming pool which will be closed by Bradford Council once a new multi-million pound sports centre opens.

There was dismay back in 2017 when the authority approved Queensbury Pool’s closure - despite letters from more than 1,000 local children pleading for it to remain open.

Queensbury had originally been poised to get a new pool under the former plans to remodel local leisure services.

But rising costs meant the whole scheme was re-considered, and plans for new pools in Queensbury and the city centre were scrapped.

A new centre is currently being built on the former Sedbergh playing fields site between Cleckheaton Road and Huddersfield Road, off Odsal roundabout, and there are also plans for another centre on Squire Lane, Girlington.

Queensbury Pool, Bingley Swimming Pool and the Richard Dunn centre at Odsal will close their doors once the new £17.5m Sedbergh Sports Centre opens, which is planned for September this year.

But there could be hope for Queensbury Pool, in Victoria Hall, Station Road, yet, with early talks on the potential of a Community Asset Transfer underway.

The man behind it is Mark Chenery, Pastor of Queensbury Life Church, which runs from Victoria Hall on a Sunday.

Mr Chenery told the Telegraph & Argus that it is not the Queensbury Life Church looking to run it, but he will be trying to put together a group of people to take it on.

As part of this, a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation would be set up to run the pool.

He said the first initial stage had begun, but information about running costs, repairs, funding and grants available would be needed.

Councillor Andrew Senior (Con, Queensbury) said: “Queensbury should have a council- run pool but due to the Council’s insistence that it needs to be closed, myself and Councillor Hargreaves have been working extremely hard to locate a community minded group to take the hall and pool on so it can stay open.”

He added: “It is vitally important that mainly the children and elderly have access to swimming facilities.

To ask schools and elderly people to trail approximately 20 minutes by car, or even worse, two buses for a swim, is simply not practical.”

He said he and Cllr Hargreaves are working closely with the group being set up by Mr Chenery to “enable the facility to not only stay open but make it more accessible to the community”.

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “The Council has received an expression of interest (stage 1 application) from the Queensbury Life Church wishing to look at the potential of a Community Asset Transfer of Victoria Hall and Swimming Pool, Queensbury.

“The Council has held a meeting with the group to go through their proposals and discuss how they could run the building as a community resource.

“It is proposed that a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) will be set up by an advisory committee of interested and knowledgeable people from the surrounding area. They are at the very early stages of the process and, in accordance with the Council’s community asset transfer policy, we would be willing to discuss the potential of working with any other groups in the Queensbury area that might also be interested.”