Pool to reopen after year-long maintenance work

The main swimming pool at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington will reopen on 26 January following 'essential maintenance'

A swimming pool which was supposed to be closed for just four months will finally reopen after being shut for a year.

The main swimming pool at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington shut in January 2023 and will reopen on 26 January, following “essential maintenance”.

The leisure centre is run by Darlington Borough Council.

Councillor Matthew Roche said: “We have invested in maintenance work for the pool to ensure we have a pool that people in Darlington can continue to enjoy for many years to come.”

The council had originally said that the maintenance works of the main pool would take four months.

But a later survey of the pool found that its level of deterioration was more extensive than initially thought and that more time would be needed for its refurbishment.

In a council cabinet meeting last year, officials heard that the local authority would have been hit with further costs unless the extra work was carried out while the pool was already shut.

Ongoing work on the toddler pool, walkway and poolside showers is expected to be completed by the spring.

Until then, alternative access arrangements will remain in place when the main pool reopens later this month.