Closing leisure centre in asbestos scare could cost Olympic borough £2.3m

 
10 April 2012

A council faces millions of pounds in penalties for demolishing the nearest swimming pool to the Olympic Park.

Previously unseen documents reveal a high-stakes contract between Newham council and funding body Sport England that penalises the borough for shutting Atherton Leisure Centre.

The pool in Stratford has been closed since May because of asbestos in the ceiling and problems meeting the maintenance bill. The rest of the centre's facilities, including a gym, indoor bowls and badminton courts, are due to close at the end of the year.

But documents released to campaigners under the Freedom of Information Act reveal penalty clauses in a £2.36million sporting grant awarded to Newham in 1999. The contract states that if Newham shuts the centre before 2020, it could be liable to refund "the full amount of grant" to Sport England.

Sir Robin Wales, Labour mayor of the Olympic borough, has given a "cast-iron guarantee" there will be a replacement facility but a top-level council report says Newham does not have the money. The council estimates that keeping the centre open for another 10 years would cost £2.2million, but wants a replacement costing up to £15million. It will take a further £80,000 to "decommission" the building, according to cabinet documents, while demolition would cost another £500,000.

Mubin Haq, 39, of Save Atherton Leisure Centre campaign group, said: "It's a travesty - there's no money earmarked for a new leisure centre and the costs of rebuilding are far more than refurbishing the pool."

Residents in Newham have been promised access to the Olympic aquatics centre after the Games, but Sarah Sutherland, 30, a school welfare assistant, said: "The aquatics centre isn't local and I don't think it will be an option for most people."

The council said: "This is a deliberate misinterpretation of a standard grant clause. We are consulting on replacing 80-year-old Atherton Leisure Centre with a new, accessible, modern facility."

Sport England said getting its money back from Newham was a "position of last resort" and talks were ongoing.

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