A new leisure centre will not be built in Kingston town centre until at least spring 2027 – more than seven years after the original facility shut in 2019.

Kingston Council has revealed new designs and an estimated timeline for the delayed replacement of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre.

The Kingfisher on Fairfield Road closed in December 2019 and was demolished in late 2022 after it was decided repairs to fix the roof would cost more than £5million. The council previously said the replacement would be built on the same site by late 2024.

However, it scrapped these plans last year as it did not have enough cash in its budget to build it. This came after a tendering process to appoint a contractor for the project returned a figure of £79.5m. The approved budget for the scheme is £44.5m and £3.3m had been spent on it as of June last year, according to a council report, leaving £41.2m.

The authority has since appointed developer Alliance Leisure to oversee the revised project, working with architects Roberts Limbrick. It is holding public sessions to show residents the initial revised designs this month, ahead of drawing up more detailed proposals. Residents can provide feedback in an online survey on the Transform Kingston website.

The council said in consultation documents the new leisure centre will offer better facilities than the Kingfisher, while being a "more efficient" two-storey building on the same site – designed so it can be delivered in an affordable budget. It added the proposals had been drawn up after a review of residents' leisure needs in the borough and feedback provided during three rounds of consultation in 2021 and 2022.

The revised plans include an eight-lane swimming pool with seating for 150 spectators and a teaching pool, a four-court sports hall, two squash courts, a gym, group cycling studio and three studio spaces. It is also set to have a health suite with a sauna and steam room, spa facility, café and soft play area.

The council has also put forward an estimated timeline for the revised project, which depends on the planning application process and choosing a contractor to deliver the project.

According to the timeline, the authority is set to appoint a construction partner in March before consulting on detailed designs in May and submitting a formal planning application in autumn.

The authority is then expected to make a decision on the plans in winter and, if this is achieved, building works are estimated to begin in spring 2025 and last around two years.

The council will appoint a leisure operator to manage the facility on its behalf. An opening date is set to be announced in due course.

A Kingston Council spokesperson said: "We are committed to building a new swimming and leisure centre in Kingston town centre, and have been working at pace to bring forward revised proposals that are accessible, sustainable and affordable, and deliver the facilities that residents have told us they need.

"We have organised four drop-in public exhibitions for people to meet the team, take a look at the progress made to date and ask any questions, and we look forward to meeting as many people as possible as part of those. Thank you to all of those that have taken the time to attend an event so far.

"For those not able to make it to one of the sessions, all of the information is available on the project website www.transformkingston.co.uk/leisure-centre, with the opportunity to comment via our Let's Talk portal: www.kingstonletstalk.co.uk."