Council set to borrow up to $43 million for Richmond Swimming Pool renovation

Hawkesbury City Council secured $30.3 million in WestInvest funding in January 2023 to rebuild the ageing Richmond Swimming Centre. The then-Mayor Cr McMahon promised work would begin within 12 months. Three and a half years later, the project remains in consultation phase, costs may have doubled, and Council is now proposing to borrow up to $43 million from ratepayers to plug the gap for a project that was sold to the community as “fully funded.”

The Promise

When WestInvest funding was announced in January 2023, the mood was triumphant. Then-Mayor Cr McMahon told Mirage News:

“I cannot stress enough how important these projects are to the future of the Hawkesbury. A lot of work has already been done by Council staff in preparing these projects, so we can expect work to begin over the next 12 months.”

Member for Hawkesbury Robyn Preston MP was equally effusive:

“Never before have community projects of this value and scale been delivered to the Hawkesbury, and it’s all thanks to the NSW Liberal/National Government’s strong financial management. Hawkesbury’s project dreams will now become a reality.”

The project was promoted as “fully funded by WestInvest.”

The Reality

During 2023–2024 the business case and concept planning was reportedly underway, but no public milestones were delivered.

By early 2025 a concept design plans were placed on public exhibition. The community was invited to provide feedback. The project was still at the consultation stage. Hawkesbury Council published a progress update acknowledging that “cost escalation has occurred with the price of materials and labour increasing significantly between the time grant applications were submitted by Council and the funding deeds being executed.”

By March 2026 Council’s Director of Infrastructure Will Barton told the Council meeting that cost blowouts are running at approximately $1 million per year on the project. He advises Council needs to consider borrowing between $27 to $30 million to deliver renovations now costing between $57 million and $60 million. The project remained in the design/consultation phase.

”Council has had more than $30 million sitting in its accounts for over 3 years and has not progressed beyond concept drawings and community surveys.” Says Bob Gribbin, retired IBM project executive and Oakville resident.

Added to the concern is that Council must deliver and acquit WestInvest-funded projects by June 2027, placing increasing pressure on timelines as costs continue to rise.

From “Fully Funded” to “We Need to Borrow $43 Million?”

Council submitted a business case to the NSW Government for $30.3 million to redevelop the Richmond Swimming Centre. That figure was accepted, the deed was signed, and the project was presented to the community as fully funded.

By March 2025, Director Infrastructure and now Acting General Manager Will Barton told councillors the project would cost between $57 million and $60 million  roughly double the original estimate. The details of how this cost blowout occurred have not been made public.

At the April 2026 Council meeting Mayor Cr Les Sheather stated that borrowings of up to $43million maybe required if one version of the concept plan for the renovated pool was adopted.

This raises serious questions.

"'Had Council moved at the pace the former Mayor promised, construction could have been completed before the worst of the cost escalation hit. Instead, ratepayers are now being asked to borrow millions to deliver a project that was supposed to cost them nothing."

 The Clock is Ticking

Adding urgency to an already troubled project is the NSW Government’s requirement that all WestInvest-funded projects be delivered and acquitted by June 2027. For the Richmond Swimming Centre, this deadline poses a great challenge.

At the April 14 Council meeting a scope of works was agreed with Councillors divided 7 to 4 on the proposal. The scope requires a submission of variation request to the West Invest funding body (Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants) be made to align the original $30.3 million scope of works with the new proposal from Council which includes a gym.

Currently the project has only the original approved design, no development application, no construction tender, and no builder appointed.

"'Even in the most optimistic scenario, construction of an aquatic centre of this scale would take 18 months to two years. Working backwards from June 2027, construction would need to have commenced by late 2025 at the latest a deadline that has already passed.'" says Mr Gribbin

If Council cannot meet the acquittal deadline, the $30.3 million in grant funding could be at risk, leaving Hawkesbury with neither a new pool nor the grant and the likelyhood of a $73 million loan.

How Other Councils Have Managed

Hawkesbury’s performance looks weak when compared with other councils overseeing WestInvest swimming pool projects:

Blacktown City Council, managing a larger, more complex $77.2 million aquatic centre project, has progressed through design and expects to begin construction in early 2026. Its $40.6 million Mount Druitt pool project has already broken ground.

Liverpool Council, which faced a similar cost blowout at Carnes Hill (costs ballooned from $53 million to $100 million), made decisive scope reductions cutting the 50m pool to 25m to keep the project within budget and on track.

Richmond Swimming Pool - much loved and needed.

The Richmond Swimming Centre was built in the 1960s. It is an ageing council pool in need of rebuilding. The WestInvest program was established to fund “transformational” infrastructure for Western Sydney.

“What is not in question is that the residents of the Hawkesbury deserve better than this. We were promised a new pool. We were told it was fully funded and that construction was imminent.

None of those promises proved true, and Council has yet to provide a satisfactory explanation of how this happened. Only when we know how this occurred can steps be taken to learn from the mistakes and in this way improve outcomes." says Mr Gribbin

The Gazette has asked Hawkesbury Council the following questions:

1. Why has progress from the Council funding announcement to concept design taken more than three years?
2. Can Council meet the June 2027 acquittal deadline? With no approved design, no DA, no tender and no builder, achieving completion by June 2027 appears implausible. What is the Council’s contingency if it cannot meet this deadline?
3. How much money is Council now intending to borrow to fund this project?
4. Can the project be modified to fit the $30.3 million West Invest funding allocation?

 The Gazette will follow this story.

Sources: Mirage News (19 Jan 2023), Hawkesbury City Council WSIG Progress Update (Feb 2025), Hawkesbury City Council meeting minutes (March 2025), NSW Government WSIG project pages, Australasian Leisure Management, APP Group, Liverpool City Council meeting papers (Oct 2024).

Bob Gribbin is a contributor to the Gazette. See our contributors webpage for further information on Bob's expertise and experience in large scale project management.