Report recommends new swimming provision at Shrewsbury Sports Village

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet will next week (13 July 2016) be asked to approve in principle a recommendation that Shrewsbury Sports Village is the preferred location for new swimming provision in Shrewsbury.

However, the report to Cabinet also recommends that other groups and organisations – including the Shrewsbury BID, Quarry Swimming and Fitness Forum and Shrewsbury Town Council – are given up to 12 months to develop alternative proposals to retain swimming provision on the existing site at the Quarry in Shrewsbury town centre.

Any alternative proposals will need to meet Shropshire Council’s requirements for future swimming provision in Shrewsbury (see note 2), including for the pool to be affordable and to support participation in the future.

All proposals that meet the council’s objectives will be considered by Cabinet before a final decision is made.

The Sports Village recommendation has been made following a lengthy public consultation and a detailed evaluation and analysis of seven options: refurbishment of the existing Quarry Pool; renovation of the existing Quarry Pool; new build on site of the existing Quarry Pool; new build at Clayton Way; new build on land at Ellesmere Road; new build on land at the Shrewsbury Sports Village; and new build on land at Shrewsbury College.

The evaluation of the seven options has considered the outcome of the consultation and three key questions, to determine which option best meets the Council’s vision and requirements for future swimming provision (see notes below).

• Which options are deliverable and are the most affordable and sustainable
• Which options best meet the Council’s vision and strategy for swimming provision?
• What are the social, environmental and economic impact and implications of the different options?

When all these factors were taken into account, the Sports Village emerged as the preferred option.

The report to Cabinet states that it is the site that has the lowest cost (£149,000) to Shropshire Council over a 25-year period.

A public consultation into future swimming provision in Shrewsbury was carried out between May and October 2015 and over 1900 people took part. The results of the consultation were analysed by an independent specialist company and carefully considered as part of the evaluation on the seven options.

A range of work was carried out to support the public consultation, including a condition survey of the Quarry Swimming and Fitness Centre, a detailed needs assessment and study of the seven options by independent specialists Strategic Leisure Ltd, and visits to other councils that have recently built public swimming pools.

Throughout the work there has been ongoing input from Energize – the county sports partnership, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and Sport England. Shropshire Council has also liaised regularly with a number of stakeholder groups, including: Shropshire Disability Network; Shrewsbury Town Council; Quarry Swimming and Fitness Forum; and Shrewsbury BID.

Detailed work has also been carried out to understand the following:

• The potential capital costs of different location and options for swimming provision in Shrewsbury.
• Potential sources of funding in support of the construction of a new pool.
• The potential revenue impact of different pool options.
• The “affordability” of different pool options based on the capital costs, revenue consequences and potential approaches to funding building works.

Stuart West, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture and leisure, said:

“Following a great deal of work over the past two years, and after careful consideration and evaluation of the seven options, the Sports Village has emerged as the location that best meets Shropshire Council’s objectives for future swimming provision in Shrewsbury – including the key factor of affordability. It has therefore been put forward as the preferred, recommended option.

“However, it’s clear from the consultation that the majority of people want swimming provision to remain at the Quarry, and this is why we have given groups and organisations time to come up with their own alternative proposals to retain swimming at this site. We will carefully consider any proposals that they put forward before making a final decision.

“Any proposals put forward would need to meet the council’s vision and priorities for swimming provision in Shrewsbury. They must provide a long-term swimming facility that’s affordable to run both now and in the future, must increase participation in swimming and physical activity, and must be complementary to other leisure facilities in the town.”

If no alternative proposals are submitted that meet Shropshire Council’s requirements, detailed design and feasibility work on the preferred Sports Village approach would be carried out by council officers and the council’s partners.

Construction would take a minimum of 18 months and the opening of any new facility would be unlikely before mid-2019.

To read the Cabinet report and appendices, click here and go to item 14 on the Cabinet agenda.

Further information

1) The Quarry Swimming and Fitness Centre in Shrewsbury has been in operation for over 100 years.

The original Quarry Pool (comprising 2 pools), located within the loop of the River Severn in the centre of Shrewsbury was opened to the public in 1864. The facility underwent extensive modernisation in 1968/69 when two additional pools and the spectator area were added. It underwent a major refurbishment in 1994; this included a new health & fitness suite, changing accommodation and the replacement of plant and equipment.

As a result of the pool’s age and condition, the facility is costly to keep repairing, is not energy efficient and cost effective to run, the site layout is restrictive, and the quality of customer provision is not as good as it would be for a more modern facility.

2) In developing options for future swimming provision in Shrewsbury the Council developed a vision and this was used to support the public consultation.

In summary the vision says that the Shrewsbury swimming facility should:

• Increase participation in swimming and physical activity, and in so doing improve the wider health and wellbeing of the community
• Provide a long-term swimming facility that’s affordable to run both now and in the future
• Be complementary to other leisure and recreational provision in the town

3) The finance models used in the report are based upon delivering a minimum facility mix of:

• 8 lane x 25m pool
• 10m x 20m learner pool with a moveable floor
• 50 station fitness suite
• Seating for 250 spectators
  – not including the option to refurbish the Quarry pool.