By Ryan Sands
TENTATIVE plans for new leisure facilities at the Newcastle Centre include a 20-metre, three-lane swimming pool and have a target completion date of December 2029.
This was confirmed at the first public consultation on the council’s planned £12m redevelopment of the landmark town centre site on Monday.
The ‘Framing the Question’ event was hosted in the centre by McAdam Design, the integrated consultancy team appointed to design and deliver the scheme.
A display board stated that the consultation’s focus was on ‘listening first and answering’ and stressed that ‘no planning application has been submitted’.
‘This consultation takes place before the planning process, allowing community feedback to shape thinking, address concerns early and inform future proposals,’ it read.
‘The project has a target completion date of December 2029.’
The display also said that the aim of the development is to ‘improve the local community facilities, enhance the Central Promenade, boost local economic activity and provide a state-of-the-art leisure facility’.
It added that the proposed scheme was exploring ‘an accessible leisure space for all ages and abilities, a visitor attraction designed to increase footfall and an enhanced public realm’.
Past examples of leisure and tourist facilities completed by McAdam Design were also highlighted, and these include Templemore Baths (Belfast), Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre (Belfast), Aurora Aquatic and Leisure Complex (Bangor), Ards Blair Mayne Wellbeing and Leisure Complex (Newtownards) and South Lake Leisure Centre (Craigavon).
Engaging with consultation attendees, Martin Hare, McAdam Design managing director, acknowledged various concerns that were raised, including that the site is not big enough and that it would not provide adequate parking.
He stated that the “very iconic and underutilised” Newcastle Centre is “in need of repair”, and that, with a £12m budget, “you will not get a pool elsewhere”.
Mr Hare added that the aim of the project is to refurbish and restore the main building and build “a considered and sensible extension” that would house “the wet facility”.
