The new swimming pools in Abbey Fields will now set the district council back £22 million, with construction work set to start again on site in March.

The town's new leisure centre is now expected to be completed by the summer of 2026 after an agreement was reached with developers Kier.

Work has been paused on the demolished site since 2022 following the discovery of a number of archaeological remains.

Since then the council has secured updated planning approval to press ahead with the project, with some small design changes approved to preserve what has been discovered.

At the end of 2023 Warwick District Council (WDC) voted in favour of pressing ahead with the project, despite renewed calls from some councillors and residents to scrap the project and look for a new site.

But at a media briefing today (February 7), the council announced the new £22 million figure had been signed off by the leaders of all the parties on the council.

However, the sum does not include the new tennis courts or duck feeding station. The council will have to finance these works separately as they are included in the planning application.

WDC is expected to borrow from the Public Works Loan Board to finance the project, which was originally forecast to cost £8.5 million back in September 2021.

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Programme manager Padraig Herlihy also revealed today that Kier had come back with a much higher figure to the council, which "was unaffordable".

The council said it could not reveal what the suggested sum was, but negotiated down to £22 million following a "substantial reduction".

Mr Herlihy said the figure is within the amount agreed by councillors last year.

Council leader Cllr Ian Davison said today: "Group leaders and cabinet all heard it [the new figure] and had a united position and agreed to it.

He added: "There was a time when I thought we would be saying no.

"I don't know Kier's negotiating position, but from what they were telling us, they had to move or it wouldn't happen."

To incorporate the findings, the foundations of the building have been raised by 50cm - although the overall height of the building will only increase by 35cm.

Changes to the drainage have also been included but there have been no changes to the actual design of the building.

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Cllr Jim Sinnott: "I think we have a great offering here [Warwick district]. Yes we could sweat the £10 million, but look at what it gives us.

More to follow.