Leisure centres rebuild to start in 2026 - council

Sheffield's Hillsborough Leisure Centre is one of the three facilities to be rebuilt, the council says

A programme to rebuild three leisure centres in Sheffield will get under way in 2026, the city council has confirmed.

The authority said last year that it planned to carry out the work at the Springs, Concord and Hillsborough sites as part of a £117m scheme to improve leisure and entertainment facilities.

A council spokesman said the planning stage was now under way, with different designs, survey work, costs and timescales being examined.

“Springs will be the first facility to be rebuilt, and we expect this will take place in 2026," he added.

“The feasibility stage includes the development of design options for the new build and stakeholder consultation," the spokesman said.

“Further feasibility studies will then be launched for Concord and Hillsborough Leisure Centres. Timescales are still to be determined.”

Sheffield City Council says it is investing £117m in its sport and leisure venues

Earlier this month, leisure firm Everyone Active was announced as the new operator of the city’s major sporting venues.

Sheffield City Trust, formerly known as Sheffield International Venues, had operated the facilities for the past three decades, but it handed them back to the council in August following years of major financial difficulties.

It came after Sheffield City Council gave the trust a £7m bailout two years ago which officers said would avoid "a potential insolvency situation".

The funding kept the trust going until it handed back the facilities.

In 2022, the council announced a raft of improvements at all of its leisure centres and entertainment venues costing a total of £19.2m.

The majority of the work consisted of repairs to electrics, lighting, heating and roofing.

Both Hillsborough and Ponds Forge pools were closed for five months for repairs.

Sheffield City Hall is among the venues with a new operator

Everyone Active will take over the English Institute of Sport, Ponds Forge International Sports Centre and IceSheffield from January 2025.

It will also manage Hillsborough, Concord and Springs, as well as Heeley swimming pool and three golf courses.

From 2026, the operator is expected to take control of Graves, Thorncliffe and Wisewood leisure centres, which have been operated by Places Leisure since 2016.

Everyone Active said it aimed to tailor the different facilities and services to cater for the communities they served.

Sheffield City Council also confirmed earlier this month that as part of its planned £117m investment plan, Sheffield Arena and the City Hall were also set be upgraded.

It had earlier announced that ASM Global would be the new operator for those venues.

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