Technical designs for a new city centre swimming pool and leisure centre have been recommended for approval following a Peterborough City Council Cabinet meeting today (Tuesday, 20 January).
The RIBA stage two concept design for the pool is currently underway and expected to conclude in the next two months. Cabinet has now approved funding (subject to Full Council agreement) for RIBA stage 3 and 4 to commence.
Since then, over half of the anticipated costs of the pool have been secured, thanks to a £20million funding announcement by the Government in November from its Growth Mission Fund, subject to the submission of a full business case.
This will go a long way to funding the eight-lane, 25 metre pool and fitness facility. It would also feature a 20m learner/teaching pool with a moveable floor, a cafe, a Tag Active soft play, health and wellbeing rooms, a 150-station fitness suite and two studios, plus a spin studio.
When Cabinet met, they agreed that as a large proportion of the funding had already been secured, subject to Government approving a full business case. it was now the right time to progress to the next design stages – RIBA three and four, which includes technical designs for the site to be drawn up. They also agreed that the contract should be given to Alliance Leisure to complete these works.
A further report to Cabinet will be made later in 2026 providing the confirmed costs of the building and requesting approval to enter into the construction phase.
Councillor Shabina Qayuum, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “We are rapidly progressing with our plans for building the new leisure facility and expect to have confirmation of Government funding in May 2026. We are working closely with our partners on the design phase and will be sharing more details of the design with the public in the summer.
“Our residents have been waiting a long time for this new pool, the Regional Pool closed in September 2023 and since then there have been no swimming facilities in the centre of Peterborough. Swimming is a fundamental life skill for young people and I will do everything in my power to get this new pool open as quickly as possible. This decision will be an important stage which will take us a step closer to a new pool opening.”
If the full £36.5m can be secured, construction work will start in early 2027, with the completion expected in 2028.
The location of the new pool is being thoroughly considered with multiple sites reviewed and discussed with stakeholders. It is recommended that the pool should be city centre based to take advantage of the public transport links, proximity to the Lido and other commercial advantages.
Public consultation on the new pool will begin in the summer, ahead of a planning application being submitted. To inform the early design stages, the council ran a series of social media polls over December and January to gauge initial views on topics such as how people would access it, and what they would like to see included.