THE FOREST Council has agreed to pump nearly £2 million more into the Five Acres leisure centre and community hub project.

Councillors approved a “bold way forward” to borrow £1.8 million for the scheme which was allocated £9.2 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund in 2021.

The revised scheme for the site, six miles from Monmouth, would see a gym, soft play and seating area created on the ground floor.

And it includes a group exercise room and cycle studio on the first floor along with more soft play space and adventure slides.

Property and projects Cabinet member Sid Phelps (Green, Lydbrook) told a meeting of the full council the situation had come about” hrough an unfortunate series of events, largely beyond our control.

“These include price, escalation, and contractor disappointment.”

“So how can we get from this to the thriving community space and leisure facility that we all want?

“Do we dither and delay, trying to divert our attention to other albeit needy projects or should we be bold?”

He said not putting in the extra cash would risk losing the millions in funding and having to sell the site back to the government for £1.