New Eston swimming centre cost rises to £19m

Construction of Eston's new pool facility is due to get under way this summer

The cost of a replacement swimming pool facility on Teesside has risen to more than £19m.

The centre at Eston, near Middlesbrough, will see Redcar and Cleveland Council borrow more than £12m to fund its construction.

It is due to have a six-lane, 25m pool, with the addition of a separate learners' pool having added £7.7m to the scheme's total.

Demolition of the existing mothballed pool should be completed next month.

A report to be presented at the council's cabinet meeting next week says the new facility will be paid for using £12.2m in borrowing, a £6.2m grant from the government's Levelling Up Fund and £700,000 from the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Council leader Alec Brown said in October the learners' pool would add significant costs to the scheme but that it was what users "overwhelmingly" wanted.

He also suggested the council could "move things around" in terms of intended spending, allocating more money towards the build without putting an extra burden on its day-to-day revenue budget.

Energy efficient

The new facility is set to be more energy efficient than the previous building and include an air source heat pump with photovoltaic panels fitted to the roof to provide a solar energy contribution.

Everyone Active, the council's private sector partner which operates leisure facilities on its behalf, will run the centre.

A planning application for the amended scheme was submitted last month with a determination expected in April or May.

Construction work is due to start in August with the project completed by February 2026.

The existing pool has been closed since June 2020, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Demolition has taken longer than initially anticipated due to the removal of asbestos from its crumbling structure.