Why it matters: The aquatics centre, planned for a site behind Portman Road's Cobbold Stand, would represent one of the most significant investments in leisure infrastructure in Ipswich for years. However, the council is due to be abolished in May 2028 – nearly two years before the project's April 2030 delivery date.
The details: The £38 million allocation was agreed at yesterday's full council meeting as part of the authority's capital programme for the next four years. The project reached a milestone last May when planning permission was granted, though its construction is also dependent on a new multi-storey car park being delivered at Portman Road, which was approved in September.
Borrowing the full amount over a 25-year loan would cost the council £2.86 million a year – totalling £71.5 million over the loan period. The council would seek external funding from the Government or organisations such as Sport England to reduce the cost, though how much could be secured is unclear.
What they're saying: Council leader Neil MacDonald acknowledged that a new unitary authority could halt the project but suggested the groundwork laid now could give it momentum. "We need to look forward, obviously a new council could come in and stop it, but perhaps it would have the momentum that would take it forward anyway," he said. He added that the council could "borrow it all" if it came to it.
Conservative Group leader Cllr Ian Fisher was more sceptical, describing the inclusion of the aquatics centre in the capital programme as "a purely political move," referring to the upcoming, now-un-postponed local elections in May.
"Realistically, it's not their money to invest; we won't even be a council then and actually, the numbers at the end of the budget state we can't afford the repayments," he said. "We've all got a burning ambition to make Ipswich better, but we haven't got an ambition to bankrupt the town at the same time."
Cllr Fisher said the council could use its reserves to cover the first two years of loan repayments but would not be able to sustain them beyond that point.
The bottom line: The aquatics centre has been approved on paper, but with the council set to cease to exist before it is due to open, significant questions remain over whether the project will ever become a reality.
