Shrewsbury's new Sundorne swimming pool to be built before Quarry centre's rebuild

Shropshire Council has reaffirmed its commitment to retaining a swimming facility in the Quarry, but said “complications” with the site and the need to secure funding meant the plans for a new pool building at Sundorne Sports Village were being progressed first.

Updating cabinet members at a meeting today, leisure portfolio holder Councillor Cecilia Motley said a full report on the 'Swimming in Shrewsbury' project would be presented in March.

But she said she wanted to make clear that the council did still intend to create new centres on both sites, after a report published ahead of the meeting gave the impression that the proposals for the Quarry site had been dropped.

The report, which listed upcoming schemes in the council’s capital strategy, described the project as “replacement of existing swimming provision at the Quarry with new provision within Shrewsbury” and stated: “Final priority decision – new competition pool at SSV only.”

The report also put the cost of the project at £10 million, a far lower figure than the £35 million the council has previously said will be needed to build the two centres.

Councillor Motley said a concept design report was now “almost complete” after cabinet agreed in December 2020 to press ahead with the ‘preferred option’ of building new facilities at both locations.

She said: “We are committed to keeping swimming and fitness facilities in the heart of Shrewsbury town centre at the current Quarry site and to the additional facilities at Sundorne Sports Village, and I don’t think that’s clear at all from this item.

“The stage two concept design will identify that the sports village pool needs to be completed first to retain the opportunity to swim in Shrewsbury and that the Quarry facility can’t be funded immediately – not least because there are complications attached to the site which do not pertain to Sundorne.

“The proposed programme will allow Shropshire Council to maintain swimming provision for Shrewsbury throughout – that means we aren’t going to get into a situation where we have no swimming provision in Shrewsbury – and allow the opportunity to explore alternative ways to deliver the Quarry redevelopment.”

According to the capital strategy report, the council will borrow the £10 million needed for the Sundorne pool in three instalments over the next three financial years. It does not give a timeline for the Quarry scheme, but Councillor Motley said the council was optimistic that funding would be obtained from external sources.

She said: “We are working very closely on the Quarry redevelopment with Sport England and we are hopeful that we will get support from them with this.”

Under the preferred option, a 25-metre eight-lane competition pool and 17 metre by 10 metre learner pool is to be built at the sports village, while the Quarry will have a 25-metre four-lane training pool, a leisure pool and complementary leisure facilities.