Farnborough residents can look forward to a new leisure centre in the heart of the town, with plans now officially approved to move forward.
The facility will offer a 25-metre swimming pool and a learner pool, along with a state-of-the-art gym featuring more than 100 fitness stations. It will also include three fitness studios, a wellness hub designed for people with limited mobility, and a toddler and adventure play area complete with a café.
For months, uncertainty surrounded the project as funding remained in question. However, with £20 million from the Levelling Up grant now confirmed for the new centre, detailed designs can begin.
With government approval secured, work is expected to progress, bringing Farnborough a modern hub for health, fitness, and community activities.
Councillor Gareth Williams, Leader of Rushmoor Council, said: “This is a major step forward to delivering the new leisure centre our residents deserve.
“My administration inherited plans for a leisure and cultural hub that weren’t fully funded and simply were not financially viable.
“That’s why we have taken some time to study leisure schemes elsewhere, consider the best location for a new development and propose a mix of facilities that we believe will meet the needs of residents, while being both commercial for the operator and affordable for the council.
“I’m very grateful to Alex Baker for raising this matter in the House of Commons and helping to secure approval from the government for our new leisure centre. We will now press ahead with the detailed designs so it can be delivered as swiftly as possible.”
At its meeting next Tuesday (February 11), Rushmoor Borough Council’s cabinet will consider a revised approach to delivering the leisure centre and decide whether to proceed to the design stage.
It will also be advised that, upon completion of this stage, a detailed and viable business case must be developed, tested, and approved before any further progress can be made.
If the cabinet agrees this approach, the council will start to draw up detailed designs for the new centre, with a view to submitting a new planning application later this year. Building work would then start in spring 2026, with a scheduled opening of autumn 2027.
The leisure centre would be built on the current Queensmead surface car park, closer to public transport, and with parking provided on the neighbouring Pinehurst car park site.
The existing leisure centre site will then be handed over for new homes as part of the wider long-term development of the civic quarter, which would include a new public park area as planned.