At a Kingston Council Planning Committee meeting last night, Wednesday 12 February, the plans submitted for the construction of the new Kingfisher Leisure Centre were approved, with a unanimous vote of all in favour.

The approved design will create the range of activities that Kingston's communities said they wanted to see, in a sustainably designed building that will be home to a 25m x 8 lane swimming pool, a training and teaching pool, a new health suite, gym, cycling and activity studios, sports hall, squash courts, soft play area and cafe. 

Accessibility and inclusivity remain key features of the project.

It will create new pedestrian links into the town centre, next to a range of landscaped public spaces throughout the scheme, as well as a new and improved play area.

During the meeting, Cllr Jackie Davies asked about how residents might protect their bikes at the proposed cycle parking at the new leisure centre to which Barry Lomax, Head of Development Managment, responded that Kingston Cycling Campaign had already sent requests regarding this matter.

He said that "cycle parking needs to be relooked at".

Cllr James Giles asked where the accessible changing facilities will be at the new centre and how many there will be.

Barry Lomax responded that the wet accessible facilities will "be to the north of the pool" and that the dry facilities "meet regulation standards".

Clrr Giles also asked about accessibility to the pool to which Lomax responded that it is a "fully accessible facility and certainly much approved on the facility it would replace."

Cllr Olly Wehring asked the common question about disabled parking to the centre to which Lomax responded, "there are two accessible parking [spaces] on site."

Speaking about the approval, Cllr Alison Holt, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Leisure, said: "Gaining planning permission is a huge step forward, and we are excited to get on and deliver the new centre that meets the highest standards of quality, sustainability and accessibility, and meets the needs of our communities. 

 "We are moving swiftly towards putting a spade in the ground and are on the final stretch of the procedures needed on a project of this scale, so that we can bring forward a fantastic new facility for all in the borough."

Final committee approval for the construction contract will be sought in March, and should that be granted, it is envisaged construction of the centre will start in Spring 2025, with the target for opening the new building in Spring 2027. 

In a significant change from the previous project, construction experts Pellikaan have been brought on board much earlier in the process to give better assurances around costs and programme as the project progresses to completion.

Designed by award-winning architects Roberts Limbrick, the project continues to be overseen by Alliance Leisure, procured through the UK Leisure Framework, who have brought together the expertise needed to deliver the project, including project management from Hadron Consulting.

Tom Fairey, Development Director for Alliance Leisure, said: "We are delighted that this hugely significant project has now taken another large step towards being delivered for Kingston.

"We are looking forward to continuing at pace through the final stage of pre-construction and working with our expert partners to deliver this exciting new centre that meets the needs of the borough for many years to come."