Built and opened in 1987 by Dover District Council, Tides Leisure Centre is now in need of major investment to provide facilities to address concerns regarding an ageing building with deteriorating pool plant equipment, to meet today’s customer expectations, and those of future years. Over recent years, councillors have been considering a range of options to complement existing leisure centre provision across the district and help plan for Tides’ future. The most recent report on Tides has now been considered by DDC’s Cabinet and more information can be viewed here

Dover District Leisure Centre has significantly improved indoor sports provision for the district and the success of this is reflected in their annual visitor figures building up to over 650,000 visits per annum across the past two years.

However, following recent strategic analysis of indoor water provision across the district that involved public and stakeholder consultation, we still need to increase the provision of lane swimming to address current and future demand, so it makes sense to consider a lane swimming pool in Deal. By doing this, we will be delivering a more comprehensive sports offer to the local community, including the provision of lifesaving skills through swim school programmes and local swimming clubs, increasing availability of facilities for all ages & abilities.

Flexible leisure pool use can be introduced on a seasonal basis and potentially at weekends using fun splash inflatables. It is also important that we consider suitable dry-side facilities.

Work began on Tides proposals seven years ago. We commissioned a team of consultants to complete a feasibility study for the long-term replacement of Tides Leisure Centre. Their reports concluded that major investment in a new build facility would be more cost effective than refurbishing the existing centre. A new build would also deliver a transformation of the centre to better meet the current and future needs of the community.

By February 2020, the project had developed to the point where Cabinet agreement was given to take forward plans for a new build wet-side and health & fitness centre. However, within weeks Covid struck, leisure centres were closed across the country and, given the level of uncertainty, the project was paused.

In July 2022, proposals to restart the project were agreed and formal public consultation took place. However, with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, increased building costs and rising energy costs, project costs escalated, threatening the viability of the project.  This led to multiple option reviews as attempts were made to make the project more affordable.  Following a change of Cabinet administration in 2023, a report was presented to members in November setting out the challenges.

Feasibility work indicated an overall project cost of around £27m with an approximate capital funding deficit of £9m on a new build replacement option.

Cabinet Members asked officers to explore three further options to see whether any provided a basis from which the project could move forward.

The Project Team presented alternative project proposals to the Council’s Cabinet on 29 July 2024. The new proposals have a reduced overall project cost and project deficit.

Engagement with the public took place in September/October 2024, including a six-lane pool option with inflatable pool fun opportunities and a toddler splash pad, as well as new health and fitness stations, toning tables, multi activity and spin studios, and café area.

The Council’s Cabinet has now (January 2025) given approval for the project to proceed to the next stages of development (RIBA stage 3 & 4). The most recent report on Tides has now been considered by DDC’s Cabinet and more information can be viewed here

Twelve potential sites were reviewed, during the initial options appraisal work, against a range of criteria. The results of this investigation strongly supported the proposal of keeping the centre at the existing site. By developing it in the existing location, the four-court sports hall and indoor tennis centre can be retained.

The Indoor Sports Facility Strategy 2023 recognises a six-lane 25m pool would help to address future demand arising from housing and population growth . It would complement existing district wide provision including Dover District Leisure Centre, which already offers a county standard competition pool, by providing lane swimming as well as an established focus on leisure swimming and family fun.

Revised proposals do not include permanent or fixed slide and flumes because the Council has been seeking to find an affordable and sustainable design that can be used more flexibly by all members of the community meeting a wide range of need.  Many old and aged leisure pools continue to permanently close across the country. They are notoriously high-energy consuming buildings, and local authorities/other providers do not have the funding to continue operating.

The latest project proposals will also include a dedicated toddler splash pad and the larger six lane 25m pool will host bespoke inflatable aqua family fun days suitable for children, families and young adults.

As revised proposals stand, there is still an estimated minimum capital funding shortfall of circa £1m to fund the loan to deliver the project.

It is proposed that all facilities will close for an interim period from 1 April 2025 until the contract for the new Deal Leisure Centre starts in 2026. From that time, the sports hall & tennis will open to the public until construction is complete by Summer 2027.

The gap between the start of the leisure management contract for the new Deal Leisure Centre and the end of the current lease with Your Leisure (YL), has driven the need for the council to investigate potential interim operating arrangements.  It has always been the Council’s intention to continue services in the sports hall & tennis centre but the gap between the new contract and current YL lease has created a complex challenging short term operational position that is resource intense & substantially exceeds the Council’s budget provision that could otherwise help contribute towards the new Deal Leisure Centre funding gap.

Your Leisure will contact customers to explain how this impacts memberships and staff on their contracts. The DDC community team will offer support to those seeking help to find alternative facilities across the district.

The tennis centre and sports hall were built relatively recently (opening in 2005 and 2011 respectively). Both are in a good condition and will be retained as integral parts of the new leisure centre. These facilities will temporarily be closed from 1 April 2025 until the new Deal Leisure Centre Contract starts in 2026.

We are currently developing the concept plans and considering funding options. The estimated total project cost is £20m.

The project will be paid for through a combination of Council reserves and borrowing, based on the improvement of the revenue performance of the facilities following completion. We will continue to investigate other potential funding sources for the project.

The Council can access a range of borrowing at competitive rates through the Public Works Loan Board and this will be combined with a contribution from the Council’s earmarked reserves. The Council intends to use the improvement in the revenue performance of the site to help fund the loan repayments.

We are developing proposals for a six-lane 25m pool, as well as a dedicated toddler splash pad, a new health & fitness gym, toning tables, multi activity and spin studios and a café area. The target programme for completing construction is summer 2027.

The Council will tender the management of the new Deal Leisure Centre to help ensure that the highest quality of service is delivered with best value for the community. The competitive tender exercise is anticipated to be complete by Autumn 2025. At that time, findings will be reported to Cabinet and approval sought to appoint a new leisure management contractor to operate the new Deal Leisure Centre. The leisure management contract will start in early 2026.

Parking fees will be fully considered in line with the emerging Parking Strategy for Dover District. Current proposals include 150-175 vehicles, disabled spaces, drop-off facilities and EV charging points.

Yes. To ensure the new designs meet, as far as possible, the highest accessible design standards, the consultant team will:

• follow guidance for designing accessible leisure centres
• take account of feedback from accessible user groups
• apply lessons learnt from newly designed accessible leisure centres

The new swimming pool with health and fitness facilities, with changing rooms & toilets will all be accessible. There will be lifts between the two floors and parking for blue badge holders.

Design proposals will incorporate publicly accessible toilets and take a similar design approach to Dover District Leisure Centre, locating these before the controlled access areas.

As with many local authorities, Dover District Council has declared a climate and ecological emergency and made a pledge to become a net zero carbon emitter by 2030.

Leisure centres are high energy consumers with space heating and hot water loads higher than any other building type.  A BREEAM Very Good rating is the minimum to be achieved.

Our approach to sustainability for the new Deal Leisure Centre will consider this high energy demand and carbon targets, building in some low energy design principles including:

• Compact form and orientation of the building
• Thermal zoning (warm, neutral and cool zones)
• Photovoltaics (solar electricity panels)
• Other renewable energy sources
• Efficient pool filtration
• Future proofing and flexibility of spaces

Yes, with the required provision to be developed to meet local and regulatory requirements.

The project budget does not include facilities such as a sauna or steam room, which are costly spaces to provide, maintain and manage, especially in response to insurance requirements for these areas.

• Next steps for the project include:
  • Preparing a planning application based on developed Stage 3 design proposals
  • Tendering for management of the new Deal Leisure Centre.
  • Closing all Tides leisure centre facilities from 1 April 2025.
  • Liaising with Pellikaan Construction who will build the new centre
  • Engaging with the cross-party Tides Project Advisory Group
  • Report findings on fixed construction cost and evaluated tendered operator procurement with recommendations to Cabinet in Autumn 2025.

We will work with the local community and keep everybody up to date with project news. You can sign up to the Council’s ‘Keep Me Posted’ online news bulletin at www.dover.gov.uk/keepmeposted Project updates will be posted on the Council’s social media channels (@doverdc).

The current operator, Your Leisure is actively working on proposals to advise customers how memberships will be impacted. They will write directly to all customers with more details by the end of January.

DDCs Community team will offer support where possible to clubs or users who may need assistance finding alternative facilities.

Toning tables are power assisted exercise machines to help improve how you move and tone muscles in a gentle way. They assist users to increase mobility and in some cases are used to rehabilitate from injuries. Typically, they are used by older people and can offer a means of social integration/activity.

All elements removed from the building will be recycled appropriately, where possible. The Main Contractor will provide Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on this.

Following public engagement, the pool depth will be varied with a shallow and deep end, adopting a Sport England pool profile to allow swimming and other activities to take place. Whilst options regarding the final pool profile remain under review by DDC, there will not be a ‘beach effect’ pool in the new scheme.

There will be thermal and environmental barriers to ensure each space has the appropriate environment, including suitable ventilation. Pool areas are complex, and the environmental conditions need to be very carefully controlled.