Warwick District Council: Kenilworth pool could "become council's HS2" - but funding gets approved

Councillors have voted to unlock the money to press ahead with controversial new swimming pools at Abbey Fields, Kenilworth, despite fears the project could become “Warwick District Council’s HS2”.

Work to redevelop the site of the old swimming pool hit the buffers when mediaeval remains were discovered.

A plan to create a half-a-metre-tall buffer with suspended concrete to protect the remains – at an extra cost of millions of pounds – came forward alongside options to abandon the project altogether or seek an alternative site.

The district’s cabinet – the panel of Green and Labour councillors in charge of major service areas – decided to continue with the works subject to costs not spiralling out of control, doing so on the basis of advice from the council’s professionals stating that finding somewhere else would cost more time and money, while abandoning the idea of a new swimming pool would not align with the council’s plans and would be go against the wishes of many residents.

Opinion remains divided on where it should go with public speakers addressing environmental and cost considerations when speaking against the proposals at this week’s meeting for all councillors.

The decision on whether to move forward was not up for consideration, just the decision on whether to go ahead with loans from the Public Works Board and release the finance.

The costs have not been nailed down yet and the council has kept the latest figures under wraps because of the range within the potential prices put forward by construction partner Kier.

September's council report stated estimates had shot up from £14.7 million to up to £22.6 million.

The debate and vote lasted for more than an hour and a half with many of the aspects thrashed out relating to the initial decision to progress.

It was passed with seven votes against – and it not follow party lines.

Kyn Aizlewood (Kenilworth Abbey & Arden), Lara Cron and Lowell Williams (both Kenilworth Park Hill) were the Green councillors to vote against with Conservatives Richard Hales (Kenilworth Abbey & Arden), Becky Noonan (Radford Semele) and Peter Phillips (Budbrooke) and Adrian Barton (Whitnash) of Whitnash Residents’ Association saying no.

The rest, including all Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors at the meeting, said yes.

Cllr Phillips had called for a three-month pause to review alternative options amid concerns about “throwing good money after bad”.

“What I am really worried about when I look at the numbers in the confidential report is that this looks as though it is going to become Warwick District Council’s HS2,” he said.

“With a lot of sunk costs, because we have spent the money, just as Boris Johnson mistakenly did in 2019 (on HS2), we decide to press on regardless.

“We are going to be spending an awful lot of money that we don’t have, we are borrowing it and burdening the council for years to come when we haven’t yet got a certainty that the costs are going to be anything like under control.

“Overall, I don’t think this is a good use of funds.”

Cllr Cron highlighted challenges with the site, that the design and ecological aspects “could be better” and that spending £8 million on piling would be “just bizarre”, calling for more work to look for alternative sites.

“I want to make sure we have the best in terms of location, the best in terms of costs and the best design,” she said.

However, leader Councillor Ian Davison (Green, Leamington Brunswick) insisted various construction-related surveys and relevant consultations could not be conducted within three months and asked councillors to back what he had described as “a very difficult decision”.

“Unfortunately, the choice is we carry on with this one now or we stop,” he said.

“We don’t know what that (stopping) means but we know it won’t be three months, it will take quite a long time and where it will get to, I don’t know. I cannot guarantee it will mean a pool any time soon.”