Party leader Cllr Cathy Scott (Dewsbury East) said the council’s announcement has given residents false hope that a replacement for the closed Dewsbury Sports Centre is on the way, when in reality only an options appraisal and feasibility study have been approved.
According to scrutiny papers reviewed by Asian Standard, the council has allocated around £100,000 for consultancy reports, not for construction. A “capital placeholder” has also been added to the budget, a planning term meaning potential future spending rather than confirmed investment.
No site has yet been agreed in Dewsbury, Batley, Heckmondwike or elsewhere in North Kirklees, and no timeline has been set for planning or delivery.
Cllr Scott said: “Residents are being told that a new leisure centre is on the way, but that simply isn’t true. There is no funding, no land and no decision to build anything. All the Council has agreed to do is pay consultants to look at options. People deserve the truth, not spin.”
The Dewsbury Sports Centre closed in 2024 after structural issues were found in the building. Its closure left thousands of residents, including many South Asian families in Dewsbury and Batley, without access to a local swimming pool or gym.
Cllr Masood Ahmed (Dewsbury South), Community Alliance Business Manager, added: “Families still have nowhere to swim, exercise or train. After a year of waiting, the Council is planning another report instead of a replacement. You don’t deliver health and activity with paperwork and PR.”
Community Alliance has also challenged what it calls the council’s “spin versus reality” over the project. While council communications have suggested that a new sports centre is on the way, scrutiny papers reveal that only a feasibility study has been approved, with no actual commitment to build. The £100,000 set aside is purely for consultants’ reports, not for construction or design work. Despite suggestions that the facility will be based in Dewsbury, no site has been identified anywhere in North Kirklees, and there is no confirmed delivery date, meaning any real progress is unlikely before the early 2030s.
Cllr Scott said that while Community Alliance supports looking at options, “without funding, a location and a delivery date, this isn’t a plan, it’s public relations. Our residents don’t need headlines; they need a sports centre back.”
Community Alliance has called for full transparency over the next steps and a clear timeline for delivery. The group says they will continue to press the council until a genuine plan for North Kirklees leisure provision is approved.
Kirklees Council has issued an update confirming its commitment to building a new sports and leisure centre for Dewsbury. The council said: Kirklees Council has committed to building a new sports/ leisure centre for Dewsbury. This commitment follows a major consultation – focused in Dewsbury and Batley over the summer – which asked residents about how they try to keep active and the barriers that prevent them from staying healthy and is fantastic news for residents.
Cabinet committed to fund the development in their forthcoming budget. Residents will be able to see that commitment when the draft council budget is published next month.
We are now undertaking an options appraisal and feasibility study in order to clearly understand the amount of capital required, including the availability of some external funding to support the capital costs.
The study will include consideration of possible locations and the design of a new complex.
It’s really important that we get the new facility right. That’s why we are developing a new approach that really listens to residents’ experiences and delivers the right facilities that will make a difference to people’s lives. There’s a lot more work to do to make it a reality, but the Cabinet is ready to commit the funding and expertise to make it happen.
