Sport England produced a report for Derby City Council showing that by 2028, much of the city’s existing swimming pool stock would reach the end of its active life without significant investment. This included Queen’s Leisure Centre, which, by then, would be 96 years old.
In 2017 essential maintenance works were undertaken to extend the life of the centre by up to five years, to 2022.
At the same time, work has been underway on the design and build of a new 50m swimming pool, learner pool and water park at Moorways Sports Village, due to open to customers in spring 2022.
With the opening of these new facilities along with other factors, including:
- the age of Queen's Leisure Centre
- the significant cost of repairs and maintenance required to maintain the facilities and bring all 3 pool halls back into use as well as the cost of large-scale refurbishment to keep the facility open in the long-term
- that for the foreseeable future the teaching pool, changing rooms and the gym remain closed due to ongoing maintenance issues
- the age and the design of Queen’s Leisure Centre is not conducive to a modern swimming facility.
The council is proposing to cease operating the leisure provision at Queen’s Leisure Centre when Moorways Sports Village opens in spring 2022.
To take part in the consultation visit the Your City Your Say page of the Derby City Council website.
Councillor Ross McCristal, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism said:
At almost a hundred years old it’s well known that Queens’s Leisure Centre is beyond its useful life. It has long been expected that Queen’s would close once the fantastic new 50m pool and water park at Moorways Sports Village opens. The state-of-the-art facility will open in spring next year and we are looking forward to opening the doors to customers.
Innovative technology will be used in the new pool at Moorways Sports Village. Moving booms and floors will allow the 50m pool to become three separate 25m pools and cater for a range of sessions by raising or lowering the floor to create different depths. The water park will have two four-storey flumes, along with England’s first wave-generating wow ball and wave rider slide.
Additionally, there will also be an indoor water playground area with mini slides and water jets. The facility will also have a spacious, modern gym fitted out with the latest equipment including three health and fitness studios, as well as sauna and steam rooms. A cafe will offer a range of refreshments and there will be a soft play area for young children.