The cost of building two new swimming pools in Abbey Fields could set the council back almost three times what was originally expected.

A report presented ahead of last week's public meeting showed the new leisure centre could cost Warwick District Council (WDC) up to £22.6 million.

The council had originally been quoted £8.5 million for the project, although this estimate had already risen to £12,550,000.

But with the costs of redesigning the project, and a much longer construction period for the project now predicted - if it still goes ahead - it could require a further £10 million.

Addressing locals at last week's meeting, leader of the council, Cllr Ian Davison, told residents to take the figures with "a huge pinch of salt".

Meanwhile project manager for the new Abbey Fields leisure centre Padraig Herlihy explained the rising costs were due to a variety of factors.

"Because of a number of issues…there is a substantial increase in the cost," he explained. 

"At the moment, the building we have half built because of the archaeological remains is £14.7 million. 

"Our contractor has given us a lower and a higher assessment of where they think the costs are at the moment. 

"The lower assessment is £20.4 million, the higher is £22.6 million."

A breakdown of the predicted costs (image via Warwick District Council)

The report also included the estimated cost of building the leisure centre at a different site.

Officers predicted this could cost around £26.7 million - including the loss of housing income (£5.3 million), inflation (£2.3 million) and cancelling the current contract with developer Kier (£2.375 million).

However, locals were told these figures were based on using the current design, and a new site would not be ready until at least 2028.

"We thought it was important to look at the theoretical option of moving the site, because if we had an option for £14 million for a nice easy site that was ready to go, it would be very remiss of councillors and officers not to investigate it," Mr Herlihy added.

Councillors are expected to discuss the figures and the future of the project in Abbey Fields in November, and will make a decision on whether to proceed with the project then.

If it goes ahead, the new pools are still not expected to be ready until 2026.