00:00The multi-million pound complex was originally expected to open in summer 2024, but with construction yet to begin, Newcastle City Council has now pushed the estimated completion date back to late 2027, the latest in a series of missed targets.
00:15The project, which includes a swimming pool, library, gym and community facilities, was approved with £19.8 million in levelling up funding after the old Outer West Pool Library and Customer Service Centre were demolished in 2020.
00:29However, a high-voltage electricity cable running beneath the site on West Denton Way is now being blamed for Hull in Progress, with costs reportedly spiralling.
00:38Despite repeated assurances from city leaders that the £34 million facility will still be delivered, local councillors say public confidence has collapsed.
00:47At a full council meeting this week, Chapel Ward councillor Mark Donnelly described the site as a rubble and wavering hope, and said residents were losing faith that the leisure centre would ever be built.
00:58Councillor Donnelly successfully passed a motion calling on the council to create a dedicated webpage to update the public with timelines and progress.
01:06He criticised what he described as a void of information, and argued that despite the city benefiting from housing growth and additional council tax revenue, the promised investment in local facilities had yet to materialise.
01:19The residents of the Outer West deserve more and better from this council, he said.
01:24Denton and West I hope councillor Tracy Mitchell echoed the concerns, adding that residents are being left without a swimming pool for at least seven years.
01:33Preparatory work was continuing behind the scenes.
01:35They confirmed that Northern Power Grid is expected to begin at diverting the electricity cable soon, and that planning approval for design changes is also in the pipeline.
01:44Fourthcción
01:53Part magic
01:54He warned
01:55Part magic
01:55Part magic
01:57Part magic
01:58Part magic
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