Whitchurch demolition work begins towards new £13m pool

The planned new centre would contain a six-lane, 25m pool

Work to demolish a swimming pool to make way for a £13.1m replacement has begun.

Shropshire Council said the new centre in Whitchurch will include a six-lane, 25m pool, a gym and a cafe.

It said it would be the best way to replace the old facility which had not been able to open since March 2020 when defects were found with the pool.

Work was due to be completed on the new centre by the middle of 2025, the authority said.

When it opened, it would be run by Shropshire Community Leisure Trust and Serco, who run several other leisure centres for the council.

Councillor Peggy Mullock said: "It is great to see the old building finally being removed. We have waited many years to have a quality swimming pool."

Councillors and officials gathered for the start of the demolition work

The council made the decision to go ahead with the replacement pool in April 2022 after putting on hold two other schemes in Shrewsbury.

One of those, the creation of new pools at Shrewsbury Sports Village, at Sundorne, at a cost of £28m, has since been revived.

Cabinet members will decide next week whether to begin a public consultation on those plans.

A cabinet report said the council would look at options for the Quarry site once the Sports Village project was "sufficiently advanced".

It said the council was subsidising the operation of both sites and the poor condition and age of the Quarry site had resulted in increasing repairs and maintenance costs.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said it meant any plans to redevelop the Quarry site looked set to be permanently shelved, with the council acknowledging it was "not financially viable" to maintain two facilities in the town.

However, the council said, if approved, the new site in Sundorne was expected to save £250,000 a year in subsidies.

Both the pool in Whitchurch and the proposed Sports Village pools in Shrewsbury would be funded by the council, which was also looking to make cuts in 2024 in attempt to balance its books.

The authority hoped the new pools in Shrewsbury would attract regional competitions and swimming galas to the town.