Extensive pool upgrade program set to commence at Willoughby Leisure Centre

Willoughby Council on Sydney’s North Shore has confirmed that the pools at the Willoughby Leisure Centre will close to swimmers from 19th November for a long-planned upgrade that is expected to take 18 months to complete.

While the facility’s gym and school holiday program will continue to operate, the closure of the pool hall, at a time when the nearby North Sydney Olympic Pool is also closed for redevelopment, is expected to cause considerable inconvenience to local swimmers and those wanting to enjoy aquatic facilities during the upcoming summer.

The Centre is the only public pool in the local government area and is one of the largest aquatic centres in Sydney’s north, attracting more than 300,000 visitors per year.

Advising that the Centre’s redevelopment is a once-in-a-generation project that would deliver three new pools, an upgraded multi-sport court hall, enhanced communal areas and improved accessibility and sustainability outcomes, Willoughby Mayor, Tanya Taylor stated “once complete, the project will deliver a strengthened multi-sports precinct that better serves the needs of centre users, across sports such as swimming, netball, basketball, volleyball and badminton.

“While it will be difficult to be without our pool hall between now and mid-2024, we are confident that at the end of this project we’ll have a stunning new fit-for-purpose facility that will represent the very best in modern leisure centres.”

The redevelopment of the Centre will include three new pools and a new creche outdoor area.

In its plans, the Council states that the development “will provide modern aquatic facilities and an upgraded sports hall that will provide services and expanded programs important to the Willoughby community.”

The Council said the Centre’s current facilities had “reached the end of their useful life” and the upgrade would address dilapidation including “concrete cancer” in the existing 25 metre pool, adding “the primary reason the pool needs to close over summer, and in turn for upgrade works to begin, relates to the fact that the pool’s pump and filtration system has reached the end of its life.

“This system cannot be relied upon to carry the pool hall across summer, without an upgrade.

“In addition, the Council is currently upgrading the accessibility of the Northbridge Baths, which will of course remain open across summer.”

Image: Concept drawing of the redeveloped Willoughby Leisure Centre.