Public must see plans for new £12m leisure centre

Public must see plans for new £12m leisure centre

30 July 2025

PLANS for a new multi-million pound leisure centre in the heart of Newcastle must be made public before they are submitted for planning, a local politician is insisting.

Mournes councillor Jill Truesdale said ratepayers must have full sight of the plans and an opportunity to comment on them before Newry, Mourne and Down Council formally lodges them with local planners.

She is concerned the designs for the new £12m complex — which will be constructed to the rear and side of the existing Newcastle Centre at Central Promenade — will be presented as fait accompli and there will not be an opportunity to amend them.

Members of the local authority’s Active Healthy Communities Committee were told recently that the majority of Mournes councillors “were happy with the designs” for the new centre which include an indoor leisure pool, three 30 metre swimming lanes and a heated play pool for children, as well as a modern gymnasium.

Council officials say that once the design consultants have been appointed before the end of the summer, there will be discussions with councillors and the public which will feed into the respective planning applications.

Leisure services director Andy Patterson said while he appreciates the projects “have been an extremely long time coming”, he hopes now that funding has been allocated to both, “we will see the progress we have all been pushing for.”

The local authority insists it remains committed to progressing the redevelopment of the Rock Pool.

“Preparatory work is ongoing to appoint an integrated consultancy team to progress the project through design, consultation and the planning application process,” the organisation said in a statement.

“The council is committed to exploring viable and sustainable development. A more detailed timescale will be developed once the consultancy team is appointed and work begins on design and planning.”

The council said the scope of the work and associated costs will be determined through the design and technical assessment phase.

Cllr Truesdale is concerned that Newcastle will “end up with a leisure centre that will not be the full size that we were initially promised”.

She said initial leisure centre plans reported in the media point to a three-lane pool which, she insisted, is not enough to support the number of residents in the town, nor the number of additional all-year-round visitors and training clubs.

“People need to be clear what exactly is on the table here,” said Cllr Truesdale.

“I am deeply worried that there will only be a public consultation after the designs have been submitted for planning and not before.”

The Recorder revealed recently that work is underway to procure two separate integrated consultancy teams which will take both the proposed new leisure cente and redeveloped outdoor Rock pool at South Promenade forward.

Initial costings to bring the crumbling outdoor seawater pool back into use and meet all current building and disable access legislation in the region of £6m.

Cllr Truesdale is concerned that making councillors and stakeholders wait until the plans for both projects have been submitted before they can see them creates a “take it or leave it” scenario.

She continued: “I would strongly encourage the council officers and other councillors to show the plans we have already seen to the public before they are submitted.

“Downpatrick has a beautiful £15m replacement leisure centre and work is due to start on extensive works to replace Kilkeel leisure centre.

“Yet in Newcastle, 50-odd years after the campaign for new leisure facilities began and with an increasing resident population, an increasing visitor population and the dubious title of ‘premier holiday destination’ there is still no swimming pool.”

Cllr Truesdale added: “We’ve waited so long for a leisure centre; we now appear to be getting less than expected and are supposed to be grateful.

Demolition work to bulldoze a rear extension at the Newcastle Centre to pave the way for a major new leisure complex has been completed, with the construction of the new multi-million pound leisure facility resulting in the removal of the outdoor Tropicana children’s play pool.

At the outdoor seawater pool built in 1933, major work is required at the facility which enjoys protected status and was closed in 2020 due to health and safety concerns.

A specialist survey confirmed a number of major issues required urgent attention and that considerable costs were involved.

Expert engineers combed every inch of the iconic facility, with their work painting a picture of the next stage of work required which will require millions of pounds to bring it back into use and comply with disabled access legislation, in particular.

Preliminary investigation work revealed a number of issues which require urgent attention and that considerable costs are involved.

It’s understood the pool’s concrete structure has extensively degraded, while the filtration system to filter sea water almost unusable, with seawater pipes so corroded that rust is coming off them and contaminating the water being filtered. 

In addition, the pool is unable to retain water as a result of cracks in the concrete and has been described as no longer fit-for-purpose, with suggestions that a complete rebuild may required.

It’s understood NI Water will have a major say on the future of pool after the Environment Agency determined that water from it could not be discharged into the sea as it will contain chlorine.