Council bosses have drawn up a list” of leisure facilities they want to revamp as part of efforts to deal with a potential population growth.
Sheppey swimming pool in Sheerness and Swallows Leisure Centre in Sittingbourne have been earmarked for extensive facelifts in the face of a larger customer base.
The proposals are detailed in Swale council’s strategy for sites across the borough over the next 14 years as it expects more than 44,000 extra people to move in due to the number of new houses being built.
Among its priority sites is the 42-year-old Sheerness swimming pool, which is part of the larger Sheppey Leisure Centre Complex, which could go from six lanes to eight. The Swallows’ sports hall in Sittingbourne, which was built 33 years ago and refurbished in 2005, has been earmarked for a refresh.
Also included in the strategy is changing room upgrades at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Faversham, which already has planning consent in place for a replacement four-court sports hall.
The final priority is for the council to consider its options to “improve physical access to the sports hall for community users” at the EKC Sheppey Secondary.
Swale’s population is expected to grow by 29% by 2038 with 19,404 new homes earmarked to be built as per the authority’s local plan. The increase would see the number of people living in the borough go from 151,965 people to 196,594 – a rise of 44,629.
The final element of that project is to improve the facilities at nearby Beachfields. Plans for the expansion, remodelling and renovation of the Healthy Living Centre have already been submitted and include soft play, adventure golf, TAG active, a new café and an outdoor gym.
Cllr Chris Reed, who sits on Sheerness Town Council’s community and environment committee, says that the pool does “need refurbishment”.
She said ‘I use it regularly and take my grandson there for lessons and it does need work. There have been some rumours of an entirely new swimming pool. But I don’t know where the money would come from for the refurbishment of the current pool let alone a new one.’
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