Forest of Dean councillors clash over Five Acres leisure centre credit

A row has broken out over claims of “political piggy backing” on the success of a new leisure centre.

The £11m redevelopment of Five Acres reached a major construction milestone last month.

Forest of Dean District Council leaders joined lead contractor Willmott Dixon and Pick Everard for a topping out ceremony which celebrated the completion of the building’s highest structural point.

Councillors for the Berry Hill ward, which includes Five Acres, have accused the Green administration of “political piggy backing” for highlighting the success of the development.

The Greens hit back saying the claims that Berry Hill councillors were responsible for getting the project to its current point were “false”.

Progressive Independent councillors for the ward, Jamie Elsmore and Tim Gwilliam, claim they have faced challenges since the council was granting funding to “rubber stamp a project that in layman’s terms was oven ready”.

“During the last three year period we endured serious threats to the project in its entirety,” they said in a joint post online.

“At every corner we were met with obstacles and delusions that beggars belief.

“Various renewable initiatives that were part of the original plan were inadequate in their view and as a consequence resulted in the project being significantly delayed and reduced.

“Having initially engaged with the Green administration, I shared with them our plans to develop the site, including future phases including the aspirations of the community to have a swimming pool.

“You can all appreciate that to achieve such a huge undertaking the need to include all political support including the Greens who have led this council for the last three painstaking years.

“You can imagine my reaction when I was asked by a current Cabinet member if I would consider having a swimming [pool] with no chlorine in it.

“I raised my concerns that to have a public swimming pool facility without chlorine would be a serious health risk to users, making them susceptible to all sorts of dangerous water-borne illnesses.”

They go on to claim that it is not down to the input from the Greens that the project is where it is today.

Councillor Dave Tradgett (Green, Huntley and Longhope), Cabinet member for property and projects said his group councillors are “saddened and surprised to hear the false claims that the Berry Hill councillors are solely responsible for delivering on the Five Acres project”.

He said: “It is certainly true that it was the previous administration that set in motion plans to redevelop the site,” he said.

“But when the current Green led administration took over in 2023, they inherited an empty wasteland and development plans which were under-funded, over-ambitious and undeliverable.

“They immediately recognised the need to rescue the project and gave it the highest priority.

“This was an enormous challenge, but now the project is securely funded and building work on target. “If anyone is to get the credit for this then it should be the district council’s chief executive officer, the chief finance officer and other senior officers, who sweated blood to get this over the line by overcoming the serious financial setbacks over many months of negotiations and cost-cutting.

“It was they who worked with developers to secure the project within the available budget and we unreservedly thank them for rescuing and delivering this invaluable community facility for the people of the Forest.”

Construction officially began at Five Acres earlier this year and work is progressing well on phase one of the redevelopment.

The main building’s superstructure has been completed along with the upper floor decks, and roof parapets, alongside drainage and infrastructure works.

Refurbishment of the Speedwell Building at the former Gloucestershire College site is also under way, and more than £3.8 million of construction work has been completed on site to date.

Facilities at Five Acres will include a gym, group exercise studios, power-assisted exercise equipment, a soft play area, party rooms, community and office space, a café, and an outreach base for Hartpury University’s Aspiration Centre.

Council leader Adrian Birch (Green, Tidenham) said at the time of the topping out that reaching the milestone was an important moment which demonstrated the progress being made on site.

“Five Acres has long been a significant project for the Forest of Dean, and it is encouraging to see the new facilities continuing to take shape,” he said.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in delivering the project and look forward to seeing work continue over the coming months.”

There is more information about the development in the dedicated Five Acres pages on the Forest Council website.