Larkhall Leisure Centre replacement

We are building a brand‑new Larkhall Leisure Centre to give the community modern, accessible facilities for sport, health and wellbeing. The project now has a confirmed budget of £27.82 million, with construction due to start in summer 2026 and the new centre expected to open in summer 2028.

Below is an update on funding, design, construction and how you can stay involved.

Project funding

In February 2024, we approved an additional £12 million, bringing the budget to £23.9 million and allowing the project to move forward.

In February 2025, we approved a further £3.85 million so the new centre could include more games hall space, which residents asked for during consultation.

The total project budget is now £27.82 million, made up of:

£21.85m council funding
City Deal contributions
Shared Prosperity Fund
Place Based Investment
Regeneration Capital Grant funding
SportScotland grant

This is the most expensive stand‑alone facility we have ever built, outside of secondary schools.

Design and community feedback

We appointed BAM Construction as the main contractor, supported by:

Holmes Miller Architects
Blyth and Blyth consulting engineers
Wallace Whittle environmental building services

We developed the designs based on earlier consultation in 2022, where the highest priorities were:

a swimming pool
a larger gym
flexible fitness space
a health suite

Drop‑in sessions in October and November 2024 showed strong support for the planned pool, gym and fitness suite. Residents raised concerns about the lack of a games hall, which led to the extra funding approved in 2025.

Updated designs were shown at drop‑in sessions on 13 June and 18 June 2025, and the response was extremely positive.

Planning permission has now been approved, and the project has moved into detailed design.

Construction timeline

Advanced works (from 16 February 2026)

These early works include:

putting up site hoardings
removing vegetation (until the end of February)
drainage works (until 6 March)
building a haul road between the current leisure centre and the health centre (9–20 March)
demolishing part of the existing leisure centre (16 February - 2 May 2026)

Main construction (June 2026 - June 2028)

Main works are scheduled to start on 1 June 2026 (subject to approvals) and finish in June 2028. Dates may change as work progresses.

The contractor will work closely with leisure centre staff to minimise disruption. Some parking spaces may be unavailable at times due to piling works.

Access to facilities during construction

To make sure activities can continue while the existing building is partly unavailable, the Games halls and pitches at Larkhall Academy are available to book.

From 2 February 2026, these facilities can be booked through the usual leisure booking system.

Available times:

Monday to Thursday: 6pm to 10pm
Friday: 6pm to 9.30pm
Saturday: 10am to 12.30pm

Share your questions or comments

If you have any comments, questions or concerns about the project, please complete our online enquiry form.

Larkhall Leisure Centre enquiry