Recently, the Labour-run Council announced that work should soon restart on the new North Bridge Leisure Centre after Conservative volunteer Penny Hutchinson quizzed the Labour Cabinet for their lack of communication.
The announcement that the Leisure Centre will soon be back on track after months of inactivity should be a moment for celebration; Halifax has been without a Leisure Facility and Swimming Pool for several years due to Labour’s mismanagement of the project. However, the new plans for the new Leisure Centre are nothing but disappointing. The Labour Leader confirmed such when it was admitted the new facility would be without a wellbeing suite, sauna, and steam room but the Labour-run Council somehow retained the audacity to call the facility “top class”.
It is important to remember the justification for the project in the first instance, which lies in providing Calderdale with new and better facilities. But this project leaves much to desired as it will be dramatically downgraded from the previous facilities.
In addition, this new update builds on the disappointing news from earlier in the development when the Council confirmed the project would not have a deep-water pool. This was not only frustrating news for the many clubs such as synchronized swimming and diving that would have to look elsewhere and for residents that will have inadequate facilities but, consequently, for the damage it will have on the local economy.
All this again confirms that the Labour Leadership lacks basic business principles and economic knowledge vital for successfully curating policies to ensure the well-being and prosperity of residents and businesses in Calderdale.
