Carlisle's Sands Centre is poised for a £19m transformation - including a new swimming pool.

An eight-lane pool - replacing the city’s ageing James Street baths - is at the heart of a radical revamp plan being pursued by Carlisle City Council.

Leaders hope the vision will strengthen the venue’s entertainment and sporting status - and send a bold message about the city’s ambitions to grow.

A summer 2020 opening date is being targeted.

Council leader Colin Glover told the News & Star: “The current Pools are nearing the end of their natural life. We need a plan in place to replace them.

“With our growth ambitions, we need facilities which will support that - giving all the things that people expect of a modern city.

“These are exciting times for Carlisle.”

Plans being drawn up for the Sands Centre include:

  • A 25-metre eight-lane swimming pool.
  • A 20-metre by eight-metre learners’ pool, with moveable floor.
  • Pool spectators’ gallery.
  • Four-court sports hall and gallery.
  • A 120-station fitness suite.
  • Two dance / exercise studios.
  • Dedicated spinning studio.
  • New changing facilities.

The current sports hall - which doubles as an 1,800-capacity concert venue - will be revamped into a dedicated auditorium. Bar and cafe facilities will also be upgraded.

Work would see the area surrounding the hall demolished with the centre expanded into the current 66-space car parking area in front of it. Plans are likely to see greater use of neighbouring spaces at The Swifts for public parking.

Details for the long-awaited Sands transformation have emerged as part of the council’s budget for 2018/19, details of which were discussed by the authority’s ruling executive yesterday.

If approved, the scheme will be paid for through a combination of borrowing and sale of some council land assets and a small amount of leisure cash held in cash reserves.

A bid is also being made for up to £2m from Sport England.

Talks are taking place with the NHS over whether it wants to be part of the project, which would mean it contributing financially.

It’s hoped that building work will start in spring 2019.

Council deputy leader Les Tickner, who holds the authority’s finance brief, said: “We wouldn’t be considering this if we felt we couldn’t afford it. We feel we have a robust financial position from which to do this.
Les Tickner

“This is ambitious. We want people to see us as ambitious and want to draw in more people from across the south of Scotland, West Cumbria and other areas to use the Sands Centre.”

The operation would be run by GLL following its successful bid to continue running the council’s leisure facilities for another 15 years.

Securing a major new sports centre for the city was a critical part of talks with bidders for that contract, during the course of which the council’s subsidy will fall from £785,000-a-year to zero - with GLL gradually repaying the subsidies paid out after the revamped centre opens and making a return to the council.

Anne Quilter, the councillor responsible for leisure and culture, is also excited by the project.

She said: “This will improve facilities which have been criticised over the years and, to me, it’s a no-brainer.

“We have to invest in the city for a robust and stable future - and a growing population deserves this.”

The Sands’ main hall, which has attracted a growing calibre of acts in recent years, is expected to remain open throughout the main construction works.

The current gym will, however, be closed. It will be relocated to a temporary base on site while the new fitness suite is built.

GLL is said to have a plan to ensure there is parking at the Sands for users of the new sports facilities, using a similar system to that in operation at the leisure centre it runs in Workington.

At its meeting yesterday, members of the council’s executive agreed to progress talks on their proposed budget, which is working its way through the political process.

Budget proposals will be debated at a full council meeting in February.

Pools fit for the future

Modern swimming facilities have long been sought for Carlisle, with The Pools - opened in their current form in 1977 - considered long past their best.


Colin Glover The baths, on James Street, are in severe need of an upgrade - with the latest costs of upgrading the current site estimated at £5m.

“Doing nothing is not an option,” city council leader Colin Glover said.

“The level of growth starting in Carlisle means we have to plan carefully about how we plan services and ensure we have suitable services for the future to uphold that growth.”

Pools and the Sands Centre

A bid to build a swimming pool at the Sands Centre is nothing new.

In 2010, the city council had a plan to build one there as part of an alliance involving the University of Cumbria and the former North West Development Agency (NWDA).

It, however, faltered with the university - at that point - dealing with cash issues and the NWDA being abolished by the Government.

The prospect of a new swimming pool was reignited in 2013 when a study into Carlisle’s sports facilities needs was published.

It highlighted the need for a new swimming pool and the potential that remained for the Sands Centre to house it.

The city council holds a string of assets which could help pay towards the project. Its most notable areas of land are on Viaduct Estate and land at Morton that was previously earmarked for a Tesco supermarket.

Fit for gigs

The Sands Centre, in a prime site off Hardwicke Circus, opened in 1985.

And there have been calls for the sports hall that doubles as its auditorium - the only large-scale indoor venue in the city - to be upgraded for many years.
Anne Quilter

It has occasionally been the butt of jokes from visiting entertainers turning up to perform there - comments which have only served to fuel calls for a dedicated auditorium.

Anne Quilter, the councillor responsible for leisure and culture, said of the prospect of transformation: “The residents of Carlisle deserve something new, something exciting. This is a great opportunity for the city.”