Swimming pool to reopen after uncertain future

Folkestone Sports Centre was taken over by The Sports Trust

A Kent sports centre which announced its closure more than a year ago is finally having its pool reopened by its new operators.

In July 2024, Folkestone Sports Centre Trust announced it was closing after "generations" as the charity could "no longer afford to remain operational", but the site was later saved by The Sports Trust.

Now the trust has confirmed its commitment to renovate and reopen Folkestone Sports Centre's pool in the summer of 2026.

"This is a vital step in restoring this essential community facility," The Sports Trust said.

The trust says plans to reopen the swimming facilities in the summer will be subject to securing additional funding needed to deliver all the necessary works.

Since taking ownership, The Sports Trust said it had undertaken a full programme of surveys and preliminary works to assess the condition of the facility.

Improvements had been planned for the site's pool and changing rooms and work was under way to upgrade the pumps and pool infrastructure thanks, in part, to funding from Sport England.

The trust said while the pool was its priority, it was continuing to explore options for the other sporting facilities at the centre.

Callie-Ann Warrington won silver at the 2024 Paralympics

A spokesperson from the trust added: "The reopening of the swimming pool is more than just a refurbishment, it's a community effort.

"Living by the coast, learning to swim is not only a life skill but a matter of safety and empowerment.

"The pool will provide a safe, accessible space for people of all ages to learn, train, and enjoy the benefits of swimming."

Ashford resident Callie-Ann Warrington, who won silver in the S10 100m butterfly at the Paralympics in 2024, said the pool reopening would "help with bringing people back to Folkestone".

She said people had to travel to Ashford or Dover to access a pool, while some people had stopped swimming altogether because of the closure.

Warrington said swimmers would also be able to benefit from the social side of the sport.

She added: "You talk to people you wouldn't normally talk to, different ages, different background, different levels of swimming, and you learn something about other people.

"You socialise with these people and if you're doing the same sessions every single week you build a little friendship group."

Warrington, who called for the site's pool to be saved when the news of its closure was announced in 2024, had since gone on to start a campaign to bring an Olympic-sized swimming pool to the county.