Ambitious plans for leisure centre unveiled by council
LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE WEST DENTON POOL SAGA
A “state-of-the-art” leisure centre costing more than £20m could be built in Newcastle’s Outer West after ambitious new plans to replace a closed swimming pool were unveiled.
Designs have been revealed for a major new facility that would see the shuttered West Denton Pool and its neighbouring sports centre torn down.
Newcastle City Council announced earlier this year that it was looking to replace the pool, which has been left closed by operator GLL since the start of the Covid pandemic, with a new £2.3m modular version next door, a plan which some critics complained would represent a downgrade.
But that proposal has now been ditched in favour of a far more ambitious vision in which both the existing pool and West Denton Leisure Centre would be demolished entirely.
In their place would be a carbonneutral £22m complex boasting a new sports hall, swimming pool, gym, cafe, library, and community spaces.
The plans are, however, dependent on the government agreeing to cover the vast majority of the costs.
A bid for £18m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund is being submitted in the hopes of securing the cash for the development, with the remaining £4m expected to be covered by the council, GLL, and
Sport England.
Newcastle North MP Catherine Mckinnell has written to the government saying that Outer West residents have been left “distraught” at the pool’s continued closure and urging ministers to back the funding bid.
She said: “I am delighted to give my full support to this application to the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
“Residents in the Outer West of Newcastle were devastated by the loss of their pool and deserve to have access to modern, high-quality sports and leisure facilities.
“The government says it is focused on the levelling up agenda and emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic as a healthier country.
“This bid has the potential to be transformational and support the levelling up of health outcomes, one of the most glaring examples of inequality in this country, so the government must now put their rhetoric into action by allocating the necessary funding, and give this proposal from Newcastle City Council the support it deserves. I will be putting this case to Ministers at every opportunity.”
A decision on which Levelling Up Fund bids are successful is expected in the autumn.
Council leader Nick Forbes added: “We’re determined not to lose that provision in an area where the population is growing and have previously revealed plans to ensure residents in the West End have access to a new community swimming pool.
“But if the government approves this bid, we can deliver much better facilities for residents that have a net-zero impact on the environment and ensure generations to come have access to sports and other facilities on their doorstep.
“We want residents to help shape that provision but it will only be possible if we win the funding.”
However, questions have already been raised about what happens if the government says no and an ongoing lack of swimming facilities until the new centre can be built.
The Newcastle Independents party, which has three councillors in the Outer West, said: “While the development is welcome, there has been no engagement at all with the local community in the development of the bid.”
BRAZEN burglars who caused £2,000 of damage to a pub by smashing their way in through a window were caught downing booze when police turned up.
Gary Pickering, pictured, and another man set off alarms by forcing their way into The High Main, in Byker, Newcastle.
When police turned up, they were swigging drinks and had gathered alcohol together to steal.
Now Pickering, 48, of North Parade, Whitley Bay, who has 100 previous convictions, has been jailed for 13 months at Newcastle Crown Court. His accomplice will be dealt with separately.
Sentencing him, Judge Penny Moreland said: “You were found with alcohol bagged up, collected together, ready to steal from the premises. It was inevitable you would be caught because you broke a window which activated an alarm and alerted the police.
“You have an appalling record for dishonesty and you were on licence at the time.”
Jamie Adams, defending, said it was a spontaneous offence when Pickering was under the influence of alcohol.
Mr Adams added: “He was looking for another opportunity to drink. That’s what they were doing when the police looked through the window.”