New West Denton leisure centre delayed again

The complex will replace the defunct pool at West Denton, which closed during the Covid pandemic

A leisure centre and swimming pool due to be built in Newcastle is now millions of pounds over budget and will be delayed by a further six months.

The city council was facing a £6m overspend on the complex at West Denton and is looking to reduce costs by finding a new construction partner.

Factors such as inflation have been blamed.

The facility is due to replace the old West Denton pool, but its opening had already been delayed once.

Initially set to be completed by summer next year, the opening was put back until December 2024.

'Reduce costs'

Commenting on the latest setback which will now see it completed in 2025, councillor Paula Maines, cabinet member for a resilient city, said the authority "remains committed" to the project.

"Like many infrastructure projects, our leisure centre and swimming pool in the Outer West has been impacted by external factors including inflation," she said.

"Over the last few months, Willmott Dixon have worked with us undertaking pre-construction services and enabling works.

"This period has now concluded, and change is necessary to reduce costs and bring them more in line with our budget.

"This delay inevitably means the centre will not be open by December 2024 as intended. We appreciate that residents will share our disappointment."

An eight-lane pool will be among the facilities when the complex finally opens

The new centre is set to include a 25m swimming pool with eight lanes, a 17m training pool, an aqua play pool, sports hall, fitness studio and gym as well as a library, soft play area and cafe.

The council was awarded £19.8m  from the government's Levelling Up fund in October 2021 after West Denton Swimming Pool failed to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic.

It is now estimated the construction will cost a total of £26m, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Ms Maines said the old pool and library had been stripped out internally and were ready to be demolished.