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Larkhall Leisure Centre replacement

External view of the current Larkhall Leisure Centre

 

Background

In February 2024, we approved an additional £12m to bridge the funding gap to replace Larkhall Leisure Centre. This brought the total available funding at that time to £23.9m, which enabled the project to progress.

BAM construction was appointed as the main contractor, supported by Holmes Miller Architects, Blyth and Blyth consulting engineers, and Wallace Whittle environmental building services.

Council Officers worked closely with the design team to develop concept deigns in line with the available budget. These designs were informed by the outcomes from a previous consultation exercise (Spring 2022), which identified that the highest priorities for the community were swimming, gym, multipurpose space suitable for fitness activities, and a health suite. Community engagement drop-in sessions to review the draft plans took place 28/29 October and 7 November 2024 in Larkhall Leisure Centre, The Lighthouse and Larkhall Academy. These sessions were well attended with strong support for the swimming pool, gym and fitness suite design; however, negative feedback was received regarding the lack of a games hall within the proposed plans.

In February 2025, the council approved an additional £3.85m towards the project in order to increase the games hall provision within the new facility. The total budget for the project now stands at £27.750m. This includes council funding of £21.850m, as well as City Deal, Shared Prosperity, Placed Based Investment and Regeneration Capital Grant funding. The new Larkhall Leisure Centre will be the most expensive stand-alone facility the council has built, outside of secondary schools.

Design

The revised plans for the new centre were available for the public to view during the community drop-in sessions on 13 June and 18 June 2025. Thank you to everyone who came along to those sessions; the feedback received was extremely positive.

We will now progress with the submission of the planning application and the more detailed designs.

Construction

The development will be delivered through a phased construction approach, beginning with the partial demolition of the existing leisure centre to create space for the new facility. Construction of the new centre will then take place on the cleared site, located on the grassed area adjacent to the school car park. This approach ensures that key elements of the existing facility can remain in use for as long as possible during the build. Once the new leisure centre is complete and operational, the remaining demolition of the old building will be carried out.

More information on the planned demolition will be available shortly.

Project timeline

  • Construction start – Summer 2026
  • Expected completion – Summer 2028

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

Larkhall Leisure Centre enquiry

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