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New pool on course to open by Easter

BBC A partly-finished swimming pool with some of the tiles laid on the sides and floor. There are windows on the far side and a pile of building materials on the floor. BBC
The new pool will be 25m long and have six lanes and a moveable floor

A new £13m swimming centre is on course to open by Easter and remains on budget.

Shropshire Council also said it hoped the new site in Whitchurch would attract more users, compared to the old centre which closed in 2020.

The new pool will be 25m long with a moveable floor, and senior project management officer Peter Gilbertson said he wanted to attract people "back to competitive swimming".

The facility will also include a gym and dance studio, both with panoramic views of the town.

Work on the site is still being carried out, but Mr Gilbertson said keeping it on track had been a big achievement.

He said: "I think it's recognised that with the challenges of inflation in the building trade over recent years, we've got quite exceptional value for money."

A smiling man with a yellow high-visibility jacked and white construction-workers helmet standing in front of a building with large windows, wood panelling and red brick walls
Peter Gilbertson said the council was looking for a 30% increase in users

The new pool will have six lanes and a floor which can be raised to just six inches for toddlers to use, or lowered deep enough for scuba divers to train.

Mr Gilbertson said: "We showed the local swimming club around and I like to think they were very impressed."

He also hoped the panoramic views from the fitness suite and dance studio would be "a feature that's going to encourage people".

An empty room with a grey floor and windows running along the far wall, with a view of a town beyond. The room is not finished and there are signs of work being carried out on the ceiling and walls.
The new fitness suite and dance studio will feature panoramic views of Whitchurch

The old pool closed in March 2020, after investigations into a leak revealed significant defects.

When the new centre opens at Easter, Mr Gilbertson said he expected it to have a "full programme" and be used in ways the previous leisure centre was not.

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