A £20 MILLION new leisure and wellbeing centre will be built on a vacant Bradford site after a funding bid was successful.

Today's Budget announcement from Chancellor Rishi Sunak included funding for the development at Squire Lane - which has been in the planning stages for over six years.

The money will come from the Government's Levelling Up Fund - which allows each constituency in the UK to bid for up to £20m for developments that would benefit local communities.

The Bradford West bid was to kickstart the stalled Squire Lane Leisure Centre project, and was put forward by a partnership of Bradford West MP Naz Shah and Bradford Council.

Ms Shah said the development would make a "big difference" to the lives of people in the area.

Plans to build a swimming pool on a vacant site near Bradford Royal Infirmary date back six years, but budget issues meant work on the £10m scheme never began.

Bradford Council’s bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund for Bradford West was to expand the project to be a “leisure, wellbeing and enterprise” centre at a cost of £20 million.

This afternoon in the latest Budget the Government announced that the scheme was one of 10 in Yorkshire and the Humber to share £187 million from the Levelling Up fund.

It would include leisure, including a new pool, health related facilities, and activities to develop enterprise, skills and community engagement.

Bradford Council had previously said that if funding was available the centre would be open by 2025.

Bids for the other four constituencies in the District will be made in future funding rounds.

Bradford West MP Naz Shah said: "I am really grateful for all the work the Council did for this bid. I have been fully supporting it, and I'm really pleased to have this money come to my constituency.

"It will make a big difference to people's lives and serve the whole District.

"In a post Covid world a facility like this is more needed than ever. Funding for this project is something that was long overdue, we've been talking about it for many years."

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The Squire Lane news was also welcomed by local Councillors.

Councillor Kamran Hussain, Chair of Regeneration and Environment Overview Scrutiny Committee and local Toller Ward Councillor said “After a long campaign over several years fighting for funding for a new a new wellbeing and enterprise centre at Squire Lane, I am delighted that the bid which was devised and submitted by Bradford Council, and championed by myself and my Toller Ward colleagues, has been successful in the first round of the Levelling Up Fund.

“The communities that will be served by this new facility, which was actually approved by Bradford Council a number of years ago but deprived of funding by this Tory Government over the last decade, are some of the most deprived in the Bradford District and it will make a huge difference to the lives of local people.”

Councillor Arshad Hussain (Lab, Toller) said "I'm really excited that this much has now been given the go ahead. It is a much needed facility in the local area which will benefit the local residents immensely.

I have worked extremely hard alongside my current and previous ward colleagues including Imran Hussain MP who previously served as a councillor for Toller Ward."

Councillor Fozia Shaheen (Lab, Toller) said: "I am absolutely delighted we have been successful in securing funding for the leisure centre.

"Toller is an area that scores high on the index of deprivation scores. Some of these inequalities can be addressed through greater opportunities to address the challenges.

"Whilst I feel it is a fantastic opportunity for the Ward I am elected to represent, it's a huge asset for all of the Bradford District, to make use of the prospective health and leisure facilities.

"It's a very exciting project which should compliment other existing community facilities and I look forward in seeing it completed to fruition.

"As an elected member I championed this initiative as I felt this was a project that brings investment, jobs, health outcomes and contributing to the social fabric of the locality.

"I would like to thank Bradford Council Officers, my elected colleagues, the organisational partners as well as the local residents who have been engaged with the project from its inception, for all their hard work and helping make this project happen."

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, portfolio holder for healthy people and places, said: “It is really good news that the bid for this funding has been successful. The new Leisure, Wellbeing and Enterprise centre in Squire Lane will be a fantastic asset for local people who have been hit hard by Covid-19. It will offer a wide range of quality services for health and employment needs as we recover from the pandemic.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “Securing this funding is a real boost and provides much needed investment into our district. It will provide transformative services in terms of health and wellbeing and also employment support for residents who need these high-quality local facilities.

"It will help provide better training for people so they can overcome barriers to employment and also means we can provide better support to small local businesses. We will be working with partners to submit further bids to the levelling up fund as future rounds are announced.”