Outer West Leisure Centre plans take step forward
Plans for a flagship multi-million-pound leisure centre with swimming pool have taken a major step forward.
Newcastle City Council has appointed Morgan Sindall Construction as its key construction partner to build the state-of-the-art leisure centre at West Denton.
While some levelling up projects around the country have been scrapped due to spiralling costs, the council has confirmed that the project will now go ahead after a series of delays.
The cost of the project has increased significantly, but work can now begin after the council:
• Reduced the cost by switching development partner.
• Confirmed a £2.5m investment from Sport England’s Strategic Facilities Fund.
• Pledged to plug the £7.15m shortfall in the costs of the project.
Work to prepare the huge site for the start of construction will begin in the next few weeks. It’s anticipated the centre will take two years to build meaning it could open in 2026.
Cabinet member for a Vibrant City, Cllr Abdul Samad, said: “I am delighted that work can begin on this very exciting project.
“Like many levelling up projects up and down the country it has been impacted by the soaring cost of building materials and labour. Although the project has been delayed the council has remained steadfast in its promise to build it and that has never been in doubt.
“During the course of the project we have had to appoint a new construction partner and secure additional sources of funding but now we have finally got there the project can get underway.
“This centre will boast an eight-lane swimming pool, training pool, gym, library, sports hall and café among other things, and I am confident the residents and visitors who use it will be impressed by its look and feel.”
Morgan Sindall Construction's Area Director for the North East and Cumbria, Alex Isted, said: "We are delighted to see this project move forward and to be able to utilise our expertise in order to help Newcastle City Council overcome the difficult, nation-wide challenges posed by historically high-levels of inflation.
“Leisure facilities bring immense value to communities. Better health and wellbeing are of course an end in themselves, but a more active and engaged population is also one likely to be less dependent on other services - and better able to contribute to economic growth.”
The challenging economic conditions all major construction projects have faced meant that the bill for the centre had risen from £26m to £34m. The council has worked hard to reduce the cost by around £4m over recent months so the project can remain viable, without compromising on quality.
The project received £19.8m from the last Government in levelling up funding which had to be spent by March 2024. That deadline was extended to March 2025, and it is likely that the council will now have to ask the newly named Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for another extension.
The council first learned back in October 2021 that it had been successful in bidding for Government levelling up funding for a leisure centre and pool. It put together the bid after the old West Denton Pool never reopened after the pandemic in 2020 due to the need for major investment.
Demolition started in November 2023 and since then the site has been cordoned off ready for site preparations and construction.
The new centre will boast an eight-lane 25m swimming pool, a 17m training pool, sports hall, gym, café, children’s play area and library to replace the outer west library that was demolished to make way for the new centre.