Plans for a new leisure centre and theatre in Eastwood have been thrown into doubt after it emerged the cost had soared to £67 million.

Rising inflation and volatile interest rates are behind the increase, pushing the potential cost up from the £55m agreed by councillors last year.

Plans for a new Eastwood leisure centre, which would include a 50m pool, 20m training pool, family fun pool, six-court games hall and a gym, were approved in January. A theatre, with up to 350 seats, and library are also part of the project.

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But there have repeatedly been questions over the cost of the development after £26m was initially allocated.

Now, a report by council officials has revealed the contractor, BAM Construction Ltd, advised the cost had increased to £74m mainly due to “the high level of inflation being experienced across the construction sector”.

This figure has been reduced to £67m, through value engineering, but council officials are carrying out further analysis on the impact of interest rates and energy prices. A further report will be presented to councillors in “the near future”.

Before that analysis began, officials had intended to give councillors five options: proceed with the £67m project, agree to a lower cost and reduce the scope of the development, refurbish the existing facility, start afresh and design a smaller leisure centre without a theatre or do nothing.

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At a full council meeting, council leader Owen O’Donnell said: “There has been an extensive review over the last number of months. I think everyone is aware of the impact of inflation, volatility in interest rates and energy prices are all having an impact on the business case for all capital projects.

“At this stage we are recommending that we need more information, principally around the impact of interest rates on the affordability of this project, in terms of the impact on capital and revenue budgets and that will come back to the council at a future meeting when that data is prepared and ready.”

Cllr Gordon Wallace, Conservative, said: “I don’t wish to be smarmy and suggest ‘I told you so’; however if we go back 10 years, I think you’ll recall we had a proposal of putting a few hundreds of thousands of pounds into trying to improve the maintenance of the facility. That was completely ignored and if nothing else it has been very poorly neglected over ten years.”

He added, in 2018, the suggested cost was £26m before it increased to £50m then £55m. “At that time we were saying ‘we think it’ll be nearer £80m from what you are talking about’ and here we are, I would suggest that we are looking at maybe £100m.

Cllr Wallace said there’s “no question” the community needs a facility but he was “delighted to see we’ve just put a bit of a pause on this just now”.

Cllr Andrew Morrison, Conservative, asked whether there had been any “consideration of involving the private sector in this development”. “For example in the form of sponsorship of the theatre or having part of the development dealt with by the private sector.

“That could substantially reduce the cost here and free up council resources for other purposes which would also have merit in other parts of East Renfrewshire.”

Cllr O’Donnell said: “We are not privatising the leisure centre if that’s what anyone is thinking about, but we will look for sponsorship opportunities or commercial opportunities as you would expect for a facility of this size.”