‘We are not covering anything up on this’: Investigation still ongoing into swimming pool errors which cost taxpayer £2.6m

Wakefield Council’s leader has admitted that ‘mistakes were made’ over a land sale which cost taxpayers £2.6m. Denise Jeffery said an investigation is still ongoing into errors which threatened the closure of a swimming pool, a school and a sports centre in Featherstone. The probe was launched almost six months ago after it was revealed the council had to pay a developer £1.2m so the facilities could stay open. Coun Jeffery told a full council meeting:”There was an issue with Featherstone pool and services that were on site when we sold the land. “Mistakes were made. “I asked for a report to be done. That is still ongoing. “It is taking much longer than I anticipated. “We have independent lawyers dealing with it. “The current position is that all relevant officers of the council have been interviewed and all documents provided.” Coun Jeffery added: “It is hard to be definite how long that will take but it really does need to be sped up. “A thorough review is more important than speed though.” Coun Jeffery said the completed report will be put before a full council meeting and the audit and governance committee for debate. In January, the council agreed to release funds to allow Orion Homes to carry out work so Featherstone Sports Complex and Featherstone Academy could remain open. The company is building houses next to the leisure centre on land bought from the council. In April 2022, tanks and a drainage area which serve the leisure centre and swimming pool were discovered on the construction site. Orion informed the council that they planned to remove them. A full survey then revealed that the site also contained gas and water mains pipes serving the school, leisure centre and swimming pool. The council spent more than £500,000 on a “temporary drainage solution” before giving Orion £1.2m to carry out “rectification works”. The costs are expected to be funded by borrowing, with estimated interest charges of £57,000 a year. Over 25 years, the total additional cost to the council is expected to be around £2.6m. Conservative group leader Nadeem Ahmed said: “All this money is taxpayers’ money and we hold that on trust. “When things do go wrong it is important to acknowledge those problems, learn from those problems and come out in the open. “I could make politics out of it but mistakes do happen and we have to put our hands up, like you have done, and acknowledge those mistakes.” Graham Isherwood, Labour councillor for Featherstone ward, said: “It wasn’t only the swimming pool that was affected. “It was also the high school, the sports centre and the swimming pool. “Believe it or not, we are still getting the flak for that mistake. “So I welcome that report and, if you see what they have built, it makes you wonder whether it was worth all the hassle. “But there you go. We are where we are.” Tony Homewood, independent councillor for Ossett, asked: “I do realise that you can’t say too much while the investigation into Featherstone is going on. “I’m not an expert on land registration but I know enough to guess what happened. “I just want to know this: Is anybody going to be in the stocks and who is providing the rotting vegetables, because somebody needs to, don’t they?” Coun Jeffery replied: “Obviously, I can’t say anything about it. “But people will be held to account if we find out what has happened. “As soon as we find out we will be reporting fully. “We are not covering anything up on this.”