COUNCIL bosses will be asked to approve major works to Ilkley Lido and Shipley Leisure Centre next week.

Among the millions of pounds worth of schemes going before Bradford Council’s Executive at a meeting on Tuesday are plans to replace the pool tank at Ilkley Lido for the first time since the pool was built in 1935.

Members will be given an update on the authority’s finances six months into the financial year, hearing where they are underspending, what departments are overspending and where the Council is planning to spend money on in the coming months.

Decisions will be made whether to include a number of projects on the Council’s Capital Investment Plan.

These include

- £460,000 to replace the pool tank at Ilkley Lido

- £300,000 to extend and refurbish the gym in Shipley Leisure Centre

- £1.4 million to relocate the Council’s Central Production Unit, which prepares meals for the District’s schools, from Johnson Street to a smaller unit in Cutler Heights

- £2.1 for IT updates, including physical storage, network servers, infrastructure, laptops, desktops, and mobile devices

- £40,000 to complete works at Doe Park Activity Centre in Denholme.

A report to the Executive predicts that the Council is likely to underspend on its £359.9m annual budget by £100,000 this year.

However, there is likely to be large overspends within the budget.

The Children’s Services department, which has a budget of £97.4m, will overspend by £8.5m due to a 22 per cent increase in children in Council care.

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There is also a forecast £1.3m overspend on providing home care for older people and people with physical disabilities.

Waste Disposal Services are forecast to overspend the £16.5m budget by £600,000 due mainly to the falling market prices for recyclate sales.

However, members will be told that these overspends will be offset by underspends in other Council departments.

“Increased enforcement activity and additional parking income” is likely to lead to the Council’s warden and enforcement service bringing in £1.1m more than had originally been budgeted.

Explaining the need for the work to Ilkley Lido, the report says: “Since the Lido’s opening in 1935, the pool tank has never been replaced and the objective of this project is to replace the original concrete pool tank lining and screed that has been in situ for 84 years.

“When complete it will remove the costly repairs year on year and reduce the amount of Council resources it takes to make the lido fit for purpose.”

The investment in Shipley Leisure Centre is an attempt to boost the numbers of people who use the Council run gym at the facility. The report says: “The works will increase membership, physical activity and participation levels. The scheme will be an invest to save one with the additional income funding the annual capital financing costs.”

The Executive will be told that the re-location of the production unit will “reduce the operating cost of the service in providing school meals.”

The Executive meets in City Hall at 10.30am on Tuesday.