Inflation has been blamed for the bulk of a massive rise in the cost of a £31m leisure centre project with green energy improvements also incurring some of the hit.
Initially, Halton Borough Council was expecting to spend £20m on the building, to be built on Moor Lane in Widnes. That figure has jumped 55% to £31m, according to information provided by the local authority to a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) from the ECHO.
Halton Council said most of the increase was due to inflation, attributed to factors including Brexit, Covid-19, and the “energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine”. A council spokeswoman told the ECHO the designs have also been revised to replace proposed gas-fired boilers with air source heat pumps, which are cheaper and cleaner to run but more expensive to install.
