LEISURE bosses have revealed details of the lost millions which led to the decision to scrap a replacement Barbican swimming pool.

City of York Council said its original deal with Barbican Venture York Ltd would have netted it £9.5 million for the site - enough to build a new pool on the nearby Kent Street Coach Park as well as helping to refurbish York's two other municipal pools.

But it was now receiving only £7.05 million - about £2.5 million less - following falls in the value of the land experienced during lengthy delays in the scheme.

However, it would receive an additional £812,000 if Barbican Venture won planning permission for a budget hotel on the coach park, said leisure chief Charlie Croft. But the lost income, combined with spiralling construction costs, meant the authority could no longer afford to provide the pool.

The Evening Press reported in later editions yesterday how major changes were being made to the Barbican Centre proposals.

Council leader Steve Galloway revealed that the coach park was now set to have a budget hotel and community centre with play area, while the Barbican site would have only 116 apartments instead of 240, coupled with an 80-bedroom care home - including 20 beds for people with Alzheimer's.

There would also be a slightly larger, high-quality 165-room hotel, featuring a pool and sports facilities which he anticipated would be available for use by local residents, probably on a club basis.

He said the Kent Street car park would no longer be reduced in size, but would be refurbished and then operated privately rather than by the council.

Elsewhere in York, he said the council was planning a new five or six-lane pool on the Oaklands School site to replace the ageing Edmund Wilson Baths, while it was entering discussions with the university about a possible new eight-lane competition standard swimming pool on the eastern side of York.

Mr Croft revealed later that of the £7.86 million the council might now receive, about £4 million would pay for the new Oaklands Pool, £2 million would go towards the partnership trying to build the new pool in east York, and half a million would pay for extra repairs and maintenance of the Yearsley pool to keep it going until 2011, when the position could be reviewed again. The remaining money would go towards professional fees and other costs, with some funds already spent on, for example, replacement sports provision at All Saint's School.

Labour storm out of briefing

ANGRY Labour councillors walked out of a briefing on the Barbican plan and have complained to City of York Council's chief executive.

Coun Keith Orrell, the council's leisure and heritage chief, slammed the group for its "irresponsible" actions at the beginning of a meeting of the Barbican Working Group, when they were to be briefed on the future of the Fishergate site.

But Dave Merrett, Labour leader, said the group walked because of the "appalling" actions of the Liberal Democrats who, he said, failed to provide them with advance report papers and told them they would not be able to influence the discussion.

Coun Merrett said working groups, set up on a cross-party basis, were meant to discuss and amend policy before top councillors were given the final chance to pass decisions at the executive.

"This administration is running a coach and horses through the normal democratic process and have reduced the working group to a rubberstamping exercise, which we simply weren't prepared to endorse," he said.

"We have formally complained to chief executive David Atkinson."

Coun Orrell said "It is incredible that on such a key matter for the residents of York, Labour councillors refused to be involved in discussions about the future of the Barbican site. The Barbican Working Group is there for councillors to discuss and assess proposals.

"I am sure residents would expect opposition councillors to take part in this important assessment of these plans."

Green councillor Mark Hill said the local community would not now feel the benefits from the Barbican redevelopment, adding: "Now we learn that we are not going to get the swimming pool and I can't help feeling we have been duped."

Coun Merrett accused the LibDems of "cutting and running" on their commitment to build a new pool.

Labour leisure spokesman Coun Dave Evans claimed the Lib Dems deliberately misled the public, by saying at a full council meeting on Tuesday that there would be public swimming on the Barbican site.

But Coun Orrell said he had told the truth on Tuesday - there would be a swimming pool on the Barbican site, at the proposed new hotel, which would probably be available for the public to use.

Campaign anger over pool move

ANGRY campaigners have blasted the decision to scrap plans to replace the Barbican swimming pool.

Ernie Dickinson, spokesman for the Save Our Barbican (SOB) campaign, claimed: "They are spitting in the faces of local people, who will still have huge apartment blocks opposite their homes but without a pool."

He was responding to a fierce attack on SOB by council leader Steve Galloway, who claimed yesterday that a "handful of objectors" had "effectively robbed" people in the Fishergate area of the pool by delaying the redevelopment scheme and ruining a deal that represented excellent value for taxpayers.

Mr Dickinson said: "I have noticed there seems to be a Lib Dem blame culture developing.

"Whether it's fireworks displays or swimming pools, there's always somebody else to blame."

He said the Liberal Democrats needed a reality check, claiming that the original Barbican proposals of the former Labour council would have probably been acceptable to most people.

He said it was the changes made after the Lib Dems gained power that had led to objections from Labour, Greens, the Civic Trust, Georgian Society and local residents.

How the figures add up

HOW much money council will get for Barbican site;

Before: £9.5 million

Now: £7 million, plus £0.8 million if budget hotel approved

How money will be spent;

£4 million for new pool at Oaklands School

£2 million towards proposed new pool in east York.

£500,000 for maintenance and repair of Yearsley Pool

Remainder towards fees and other costs

Updated: 09:48 Friday, January 27, 2006