New Cranleigh leisure centre to open in 2025
A brand new facility will replace an ageing building dating back to 1969
Last updated 29th Nov 2021
Cranleigh’s new £20 million leisure centre is expected to shave a huge chunk off Waverley council’s carbon footprint.
Waverley Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny committee last night (November 24) endorsed in principle the low carbon leisure centre on Village Way car park, next to the existing centre.
The council’s sustainability manager Fotini Vickers told the committee that the 52-year-old centre accounted for 11 per cent of the council’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2019/20. A new Passivhaus standard centre would reduce carbon emissions by 60-70 per cent.
Kelvin Mills, Waverley’s head of commercial services, said: “Taking 11 per cent sic off our footprint is an exciting thing to bring forward.”
The new centre, now expected to open in June 2025, is to include a 25-metre main swimming pool with six lanes, a 13-metre teaching pool with moveable floor, spectator seating, gym, exercise studios, squash courts, soft play area, treatment rooms and café.
A sauna is also being considered if it can be made carbon neutral by photovoltaics.
Cllr Mary Foryszewski (Con, Cranleigh East) said: “What we have before us, I believe is terribly exciting. We have fought for a new leisure centre in Cranleigh for an awful long time.
“It’s a great place to go, a really lovely environment to be in, but it has passed its sell-by date.
“I was never in doubt that this would come before committee, but I think there’s been some serious financial challenges that would have jeopardised that, financial ones.”
The borough council has only £1.66m in place so the £19.94m project will require extensive borrowing, which will need to be approved by full council.
Mr Mills said the estimated cost had increased by £5m since a feasibility report in 2019 and this was in part to make it carbon neutral.
Cllr Carole Cockburn (Con, Farnham Bourne) said: “Mary never gives up. She has talked about this – and thank goodness she has – for years and has never let us forget it.
“There are certain things that we seem to talk about for years and never achieve and when you get something which you feel you’re getting closer and closer to, it’s wonderful news.”
Cranleigh Leisure Centre was built in 1969 with an expected lifespan of 40 years, and was refurbished 12 years ago at a cost of £1.67m.
Running the centre is making the council a loss of about £150,000 every year, and independent building surveys have shown it would cost £6 million over five years just to keep it going.
It has had to close unexpectedly in the past due to the roofing and mechanical plant failing.
Cllr Jenny Else (Con, Elstead and Thursley) said: “I’m absolutely amazed it hasn’t fallen down by now!”
Officers said the public were returning quicker to leisure than anticipated after the lockdowns.
Waverley leisure centres had 297,147 visits in the second quarter of 2021/22, compared with 54,656 during the same period the year before.
Waverley’s local plan anticipates 2,600 new homes in the borough by 2032 so the council is expecting an increased demand for the gym.
The current centre will be able to remain open during construction.