Town site preferred for Newcastle leisure centre

Town site preferred for Newcastle leisure centre

17 September 2025

NEWCASTLE’S proposed new £12m leisure centre will not be built on an out-of-town site.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council has confirmed this week that the preferred option to build the ultra-modern complex remains at the rear and to the side of the existing Newcastle Centre in Central Promenade.

The confirmation came at Monday night’s meeting of the local authority’s Active and Healthy Communities Committee.

Last month, a bid to switch the location of the new complex featuring an indoor leisure pool, three 30 metre swimming lanes, dedicated heated play pool for children and an ultra-modern gymnasium, was suggested.

The existing Tropicana outdoor children’s pool at the Newcastle Centre would be bulldozed under the preferred option plan, with expert design consultants due to be appointed to spearhead the new leisure development.

And while concern has been expressed at the cramped development site and lack of parking, council officials have dismissed any suggestion that an out-of-town location would be more appropriate.

At the council committee’s August meeting, a call was issued for anyone who knows of a larger available site for the new leisure centre to come forward, with Mournes councillor, Laura Devlin, hoping to gain clarity on the new leisure centre proposal.

She took the opportunity to ask if any of her colleagues or member of the public was aware of a bigger site in Newcastle that could accommodate and better serve the resort’s leisure and community needs so it could be investigated.

Cllr Devlin said councillors familiar with Newcastle knew how limited the town is in terms of development land, suggesting she would love a “huge big massive Newry Leisure Centre type somewhere in Newcastle with loads of parking spaces.

She said the resort was restricted in terms of available land, but insisted she did not want to hold off and run the risk of having to wait another decade for an “absolutely perfect leisure centre”.

Cllr Devlin said if there was another site that the council had missed over the years, “we could try to move forward collectively to get our new leisure centre built in Newcastle”.

At Monday night’s committee meeting, councillors were reminded that over the past two decades, multiple feasibility studies and appraisals have identified the urgent need for replacement leisure facilities in the resort.

Officials say all the reports have “consistently confirmed” the inadequacy of existing facilities and the need for modern wet and dry leisure provision, with the Newcastle Centre agreed as the most appropriate location.

Councillors were also told the Newcastle leisure provision feasibility study evidenced strong support for an ultra-modern facility at the Newcastle Centre site.

Officials say the Main Street location offers regeneration potential, aligning with the local authority’s corporate plan to promote healthier lifestyles and enhance town centre vibrancy.

In addition, they say the town centre site can provide opportunities for a mixed-use approach, including leisure and commercial facilities, maximising benefits to residents, visitors and the local economy.

The construction of an ultra-modern leisure centre is part of a near £20m investment package in the resort that would include the redevelopment of the outdoor Rock Pool at South Promenade which has been closed for five years.

Both projects are key planks of the local authority’s corporate plan and a cornerstone of the organisation’s Active and Healthy Community Department’s business plan.

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 has confirmed a number of major issues required urgent attention and that considerable costs were involved, with external funding critical in paving the way for its redevelopment.

An appeal was issued to council officials last week to spell out a detailed plan for the delivery of a modern new leisure centre in Newcastle and the redevelopment of the resort’s outdoor Rock Pool.

Both proposals are projected to cost in excess of £20m.

The appeal came after a senior council gave an assurance that the procurement process for the new leisure centre was “live and ongoing” and that an update would be provided within the next few weeks.

Councillors were also told recently that there will be full public consultation with regards to the design of the town centre scheme and that the redevelopment of the Rock Pool will require grant support.