Pool closed to save money costs taxpayers £2.3m

28 August 2025

Simon GilbertBBC Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire

News image — The Cov Baths section of the site, which includes the Olympic-sized swimming pool, is set to be demolished after costs spiralled

BBC The empty Olympic-sized pool is pictured with water staining on the floor and empty red plastic seats in a grandstand to the right. — The Cov Baths section of the site, which includes the Olympic-sized swimming pool, is set to be demolished after costs spiralled

Almost £2.3m has been spent on Coventry's former Olympic swimming pool and leisure centre complex since it was closed to save money.

Figures obtained by the BBC show £2,291,225 has been spent on Coventry Sports and Leisure Centre by Coventry City Council since it was shut in February 2020.

The council recently confirmed it intended to demolish the swimming pool section of the site "in the best interests of the city and the best interests of the taxpayers", after marketing efforts failed to attract a new occupier.

The latest costs are shown to be dominated by around £300,000 a year spent on security and utilities, as well as £68,000 paid to Coventry Business Improvement District and a total of £355,000 on buildings insurance.

Among the smaller charges were £172 to clean the indoor bowls carpet a year after it closed, £1,909 to remove furniture and another £1,909 for minor building works.

Despite the costs, the council insists it will still meet savings targets of £13m over 45 years as a result of closing down the site.

A large grey building known locally as "The Elephant" straddles a road in Coventry city centre. It's a building of multiple angles and grey slates down the sides and on the roof of the building. — The sports centre was housed inside a building known locally as "The Elephant", and campaigners want to see it brought back into use

Prior to the closure, the council included forecasts in public reports which suggested it would have cost £15.5m over 45 years to modernise the existing facility.

At the current rate of costs, the council would spend more than £20m simply keeping the site empty.

Thousands of people campaigned to keep the centre open ahead of the eventual closure.

Councillor Jim O'Boyle stands in front of the closed Coventry Sports and Leisure Centre. He has short grey hair and is wearing a blue suit and tie and a white shirt. — Councillor Jim O'Boyle said "the time has come" to demolish the site, known locally as the "Cov Baths" since it was built in the 1960s

Asked if they had the right idea, councillor Jim O'Boyle, Labour's cabinet member for regeneration at Coventry City Council, said: "I'm afraid the building had come to its natural end. The cost of retaining it, at that time, was extortionate.

"Actually, finding parts for old parts of the building was very, very difficult."

However, there is renewed hope the leisure centre part of the complex, known locally as "The Elephant", could be brought back into use after the council confirmed it would be spared from demolition.

Kauser Husain looks at the camera. She is wearing a black T-shirt and silver necklace. She has long brown hair and pink lipstick. — Campaigners, including Kauser Husain, are calling for part of the Coventry Leisure Centre to be reopened

Kauser Husain is one of the people behind a petition signed by more than 700 people to reopen the leisure centre building, and said her group had been inspired to get involved due to a lack of space to play badminton in the city centre.

She added: "There is lots of potential. We're just asking the council to engage with people to bring their ideas to the table and see what can be done so that it's developed with the community.

"The onus is not just on the council.

"It's important because the plans, the ideas, they must serve the community first and foremost in order for us to get the best out of the space."