Plans revealed for £24m leisure centre to replace crumbling Sandwell pool

Haden Hill Leisure Centre in Barrs Road, Cradley Heath, closed in March last year ahead of the multi-million-pound renovation which includes a new swimming pool.

The £24 million upgrade will see the leisure centre’s crumbling swimming pool, which has been closed since March 2023 after the ceiling collapsed, demolished and rebuilt with the rest of the building “extensively upgraded.”

The planning application has now been formally submitted for a decision by Sandwell Council.

The new albeit smaller facilities will include a community pool, learner pool, sauna and steam rooms, a gym, two dance studios, an indoor cycling studio, sports hall and cafe.

Sandwell Council said the new leisure centre should re-open in October 2026.

In 2023, the government announced it would be giving Sandwell Council £20m from its ‘levelling up’ fund to help upgrade Haden Hill Leisure Centre. The council would be contributing £2m with a decision still pending on a further bid for £2m.

Early plans would have seen the leisure centre demolished completely but the move was later ruled out due to inflation and rising construction costs.

A statement included with the application by Sandwell Council said: “The decision to demolish the existing leisure centre in favour of a largely new build solution has been well informed through extensive optioneering and early cost analysis further informed by early contractor engagement. Some existing retaining structures will be retained and will form part of the external building fabric at ground floor level for the sports hall and wet changing areas.

“The visual impact and scale of the new Haden Hill leisure centre design will be reduced when compared to the existing building and it has been designed in a more efficient and compact way across two floor levels.

“The developed design delivers a high quality leisure centre environment and a important new facility for the local population of Cradley Heath.”