THE design and development of a new leisure centre has been put “on hold” to work on “wider plans for the site.”

A £10 million new facility was due to be built on Squire Lane, Bowling near Bradford Royal Infirmary, and include a swimming pool, gym and dance studios.

It was part of Bradford Council’s plan to close a number of swimming pools and leisure centres that had been deemed “outdated” and replace them with modern facilities costing £28.1 million.

At a meeting of Bradford Council’s Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee next Thursday, members will be told that the plans for Squire Lane have changed since the new facility was first announced. The Council has revealed it is working on plans for the site with a “social business,” and the development could now include health services and an “enterprise centre.”

Members had last been given an update on the project last Summer. A report going before next week’s meeting says: “At the time this project was last reported to committee the Council had appointed a design team to progress the development of a sports facility on the site.

Amazing photos of the Richard Dunn sports centre in the 1980s

“Since that period the appointment of the design team has been put on hold, the Council is working with Well North Enterprises CIC in order to develop wider plans for the site.

“The aim is to explore opportunities to co-locate additional services onto the site to provide a more holistic health, wellbeing community and enterprise centre on the site providing a far greater spread of facilities for the local population.”

On its website Well North says: “Our mission is to find the areas that need a hand the most, and inject a mixture of positivity, resilience, disruption and creativity to transform neighbourhoods into dynamic communities where local people can live, learn, play, work, thrive and be happy.”

Members will also be given an update on the Sedbergh Sports and Leisure Centre.

The Council’s Sports Facilities Investment Plan included the closure of Richard Dunn centre and the construction of the new £17.5m Sedbergh Leisure Centre.

The centre, on the Sedbergh Recreation Ground a short distance from Richard Dunn, will include a 25m, six lane swimming pool, 12m x 8m Activity Pool, studios, a gym, eight court sports hall and three outdoor pitches.

The Richard Dunn centre will be demolished once Sedbergh is opened.

The report to the committee reveals that there will be a “soft launch” next month, with an official opening later in October or early November. Talking about the grand opening, the report says: “In order to ensure that the facility opens smoothly and all teething problems are dealt with, a phased approach to opening will be implemented in the days and weeks prior to this where gym members will be granted access to the building, and other facilities opened to select groups of users.”

Bradford Council is currently marketing the Richard Dunn site.

Committee members will be told that the final stages of work are now taking place at Serbergh including painting, line marking and equipment installation. They will also hear that the centre is expected to be completed on budget.

The meeting will take place in City Hall at 6pm and Thursday September 19.