Plan to turn Crewe's Flag Lane Baths into community hub abandoned
Plans for a new community centre at the former Flag Lane Baths in Crewe have been abandoned, with Cheshire East Council citing "siginificant cost increases and delays" with the project. The plans were submitted in January 2022 by local charity Always Ahead, which sought to transform the derelict swimming baths into a facility where people could spend leisure time and access support.
The Crewe Town Board had promised the community hub would "improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing for the whole of Crewe and its residents for years to come." Plans are proposed to instead use the site as an alternative provision school.
Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith described the decision as "bittersweet", saying he had supported the project and recognised "the need to make use of this iconic building and deter anti-social behaviour in the area." He added he was "delighted" that Cheshire East has proposed to use the site as an alternative provision school which "would help us to bridge a clear gap we have locally."
Funding for the community hub project had been secured through the Government’s Towns Fund, overseen by the Crewe Town Board. Cheshire East Council said the board had withdrawn its support for the project after "significant cost increases and delays with the project," and asked the council and government to reallocate the funds to other regeneration projects in the town.
The board has backed Cheshire East Council's plans for an alternative provision school at the site, which the council said could accomodate 75 pupils from Crewe and the surrounding area. Mr Naismith said he now awaits "detailed proposals coming forward on the alternative provision school proposed for the site."
Tony Davison, chair of Crewe Town Board, said: “This decision has not been taken lightly and has involved extensive discussions with Always Ahead, Government officials and Cheshire East Council to see if this project could still be achievable by the end of March 2026, which is when the grant funding must be spent by.
“But concerns about the structure of the building and rising costs – that now far exceed the budget available – means this is not possible. We must take action now to ensure the grant funding from the Towns Fund stays in the town and can be used positively elsewhere, or we will lose it altogether.”
Mr Davison added: “As a board, we’re very keen to see an alternative use for this site brought forward and we welcome this new proposal from the council for an alternative provision school. We recognise the need for this in Cheshire East, particularly in Crewe, and the benefits that it could bring – both the support and opportunities it will provide for young people, and in ensuring the form Flag Lane Baths site does not remain vacant for the long-term.”
Recommendations to withdraw funding for the original project and progress an alternative use for the site are subject to approval by Cheshire East Council’s economy and growth committee at its meeting on 25 September. Any development of the site will also be subject to other approvals, including planning permission.
Councillor Michael Gorman, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council and chair of the economy and growth committee, said: “While we are of course disappointed that the plans by the Always Ahead charity cannot be realised, we are pleased to have begun positive discussions with the Department for Education and an academy trust about plans for a new alternative provision school instead. We understand that the former Flag Lane Baths is their preferred location for a school of this type, especially given the close proximity it will have to ‘The Dome’, which will be built on the former Oak Street car park and will be staffed by highly-skilled youth workers.
“As part of our discussions, we will be pressing for the façade of the former baths to be kept as part of any development, alongside the site being used as some form of community facility.”
David Edwards, of the Always Ahead charity, said: “Contractual costs for this project are £12.8m. Even by phasing our plans, we would need to raise an additional £2m by the end of October to ensure the project could be delivered by the end of the Government’s Towns Fund programme in March 2026. Therefore, with a heavy heart, we agree with the town board that this project cannot be delivered.
“We would like to thank the local community for the support they have shown us over the years since we began developing our vision for the baths. We are also pleased to hear that the council is moving forward with alternative plans, and we are supportive of the proposals that have been put forward.”
Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith said: "This is bittersweet news for the town. I have supported the Always Ahead Charities' plans to turn the Flag Lane Baths site into a community hub for many years, recognising the need to make use of this iconic building and deter anti-social behaviour in the area.
"Unfortunately, exorbitant inflation in construction costs arising from the summer of 2022 mean that, despite the best efforts of Cheshire East and the Crewe Town Board, this project is no longer deliverable within the envelope of the Towns Fund and other sources of funding. However, I am delighted that the government has been able to step in and provide a new proposed use for the building, not least because this proposal, an alternative provision school, would help us to bridge a clear gap we have locally.
"Importantly, this also gives the Town Board the opportunity to seek to redistribute funding to other important projects which are also facing cost pressures. We now await detailed proposals coming forward on the alternative provision school proposed for the site."
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