In the market town of Halifax in northern England, a 1980s leisure centre has been boarded up, and encircled by a steel fence.
The site in West Yorkshire should be a hive of construction activity after winning money from the government’s “levelling up” fund for a new gym and swimming pool, but with high inflation adding more than £4mn to the project’s £28mn cost, the local council has reluctantly put the plan on hold.
“It’s a horrible decision to have to make but we’re not the only council that’s going to be in that position,” said Jane Scullion, acting leader of Calderdale council, which covers Halifax. “We couldn’t write a blank cheque.”