Imminent progress has been promised on the building of a long-awaited new leisure centre in Newcastle.
Amid mounting frustration over delays to the planned Outer West Leisure Centre in West Denton, council chiefs now say that essential works holding up the project should start this month.
The area has been without a swimming pool since the old Outer West Pool, which has since been demolished, was shut at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Its intended replacement, a “state-of-the-art” sports and leisure facility on the site in West Denton Way, was meant to open in summer 2024.
But construction is yet to even start on the multi-million pound complex, which has suffered from a series of setbacks, and its target opening date has now been pushed back until late 2027.
Newcastle City Council said in August that the latest issue blocking the development was the discovery of a high-voltage cable which needs to be moved, while local councillors have bemoaned a “void of information” surrounding the scheme as residents fear it will never come to fruition.
The start of the start
But Northern Powergrid is now expected to start that cable rerouting work this month, with hopes that the building of the leisure centre can at last begin in January.
Meanwhile, the local authority has also released new concept images showing how the centre will look.
Costs
With costs having spiralled since the project was unveiled in 2021, the council has switched contractors and redrawn the scheme in an effort to make it financially viable.
Labour councillor Abdul Samad, the council’s cabinet member for culture, music, and the arts, said: “The images show the centre is going to be magnificent. The aerial photo shows the size of the development while the other images feature some changes.
“These changes are only minor and reflect the value engineering that has gone on to keep costs under control in this time of inflation and keep the project viable.
“All capital projects go up in cost, but with our project we’ve been determined to keep our costs under control to deliver this exciting project.”
Newcastle City Council won £19.8 million of Levilling Up funding to help pay for the centre, originally expected to cost a total £22.3 million, in 2021.
While that price tag has since escalated to more than £34 million in the years since, the authority has insisted that the scheme will go ahead.
The complex should eventually boast a 25m swimming pool, a 17m training pool, a sports hall, gym, cafe, children’s play area, and a new library.
Howard Davies, who manages the leisure centre project for the council, added: “I’m happy to advise that progress on site will soon be seen and Northern Powergrid will start work later this month to divert the existing high voltage cable safely away from the site and prepare the new substation for use.
“Once the cable diversion works are complete which are expected to take between six to eight weeks, it will allow us to conclude the enabling works, including the improved access road to the site which is encroaching where the pool is going to be built. This prepares the site for main construction works commencing.
“It means that residents, who have been very patient, will soon start to see things happening on site and enable us to reinstate pedestrian access to the shopping centre and through the subway under West Denton Way.”
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