Cabinet approved up to £1.191m on 8 September to replace pool plant dating from 1975. The report also floats crowdfunding, which would cut the council's share.
Northumberland County Council’s Cabinet agreed on Tuesday 8 September to give Haltwhistle Swimming and Leisure Centre up to £1.191 million to replace pool plant that dates in part from 1975.
The council announced the proposal on 1 September. The report Cabinet voted on carries several things the announcement left out, including a suggestion that the charity which runs the centre might be asked to raise some of the money itself.
What is being proposed
The recommendation is a grant of up to £1.191 million to the centre, split £1.092 million in 2026-27 and £0.099 million in 2027-28. It would be paid from the existing Borderlands Place Programme budget rather than from new money (Cabinet report, 8 September 2026).
The council’s own announcement rounded that to “a £1.1m raft of works” (Northumberland County Council).
The centre is a community facility with three outdoor heated pools, a sports hall, gym, fitness studio and an all-weather astro turf. Its own website describes the pools as seasonal (Haltwhistle Swimming and Leisure Centre). The report says it attracts around 138,800 users a year and supports 20 full-time equivalent jobs, both of which the scheme is meant to safeguard.
On the case for spending the money, the report is blunt:
Without intervention there is an increasing risk of equipment failure, service disruption, reduced operational capacity and higher maintenance costs.
Elements of the plant room date from the original installation in 1975. An audit survey and pipework pressure testing have already been done, and the findings have shaped the design.
The crowdfunding line
The part that did not make the press release sits in the financial section of the report. The current budget assumes the council pays for all of it, but that assumption is going to be tested:
This will be reviewed following discussion with the project sponsor (HSLC) regarding the availability of match funding from their own or other sources. This could include encouraging the project sponsor to consider the potential for alternative methods such as crowd funding which will then be reflected in the grant funding application.
Anything the charity raises would reduce the council’s grant, and the saving would go back into the Borderlands Place Programme pot. That is a reasonable use of public money. It is also a material condition, and it is worth residents knowing about before any appeal lands.
Approval is not the end of it either. The report says the grant is subject to the council’s due diligence, a subsidy control assessment, legal review of the grant agreement, confirmation of matched funding commitments, and final sign-off on financial, commercial and risk arrangements. The works themselves would be procured and managed by the charity, not the council.
The dates
The report sets out the timetable in full.
| Stage | When |
|---|---|
| Design drawings and specifications finalised | August 2026 |
| Tender documents produced | August 2026 |
| Cabinet decision on funding | 8 September 2026 |
| Grant application submitted by the centre | September 2026 |
| Grant funding agreement issued | September 2026 |
| Tender period | September and October 2026 |
| Contractor instructed, lead-in begins | November 2026 |
| Construction starts | December 2026 |
| Handover | February 2027 |
A December start and a February handover put the work outside the outdoor swimming season, which the centre opened in April this year.
Two numbers that do not match
The report says the centre attracts around 138,800 users per annum. The council’s announcement says “around 140,000 visitors each year”, and Cabinet Member for Regeneration Councillor Richard Wearmouth is quoted in it saying the centre attracts “hundreds of thousands of visitors”.
The figure in the report is the one the decision rests on. We have used it throughout.
Where the money comes from
The Borderlands Place Programme is a ten-year, £21 million investment initiative covering seven Northumberland towns, with up to £3 million available to each. Haltwhistle is one of the seven, and the council describes this as the first phase of major investment in the leisure centre.
Haltwhistle Swimming and Leisure Centre is owned and run by an independent charitable organisation governed by a board of trustees, which is responsible for day-to-day management, operation and maintenance. It is registered at Companies House as company number 09911905, incorporated on 10 December 2015 (Companies House).
What it means for you
- If you use the pools: nothing changes this season. The work is scheduled for December to February, with handover in February 2027, so the 2027 season should open on refurbished plant.
- If you want to read the decision: Cabinet took it on 8 September at County Hall, Morpeth. The printed decisions and the recording are on the council’s committee site.
- If you might be asked to donate: the report explicitly raises crowdfunding as an option the council could encourage. Any money the centre raises reduces the council grant rather than adding to the total budget for the works.
- If you live in one of the other Borderlands towns: this comes out of a shared £21 million programme, and money not spent here returns to that pot.
The same Cabinet meeting also approved a service redesign for libraries and customer services, a statutory consultation response on bus reform, a review of the Council Tax Support Scheme, and the capital report that carries this proposal. You can check what your own council tax pays for on our Northumberland council tax bands page.
Sources
- Summary of New Capital Proposals considered by the Capital Strategy Group, report to Northumberland County Council Cabinet, 8 September 2026, for the £1.191 million and its split across two years, the 1975 plant room, the 138,800 users, the 20 full-time equivalent jobs, the match funding and crowdfunding wording, the conditions of approval and the project timetable.
- Agenda for Cabinet, Tuesday 8 September 2026, for the meeting time, venue and the rest of the agenda.
- Northumberland County Council: Haltwhistle pool set for a major splash of investment (1 September 2026), for the council’s own account, the “£1.1m” and “around 140,000 visitors” figures, the quotes and the Borderlands Place Programme description.
- Haltwhistle Swimming and Leisure Centre, the centre’s own website, for the three seasonal outdoor heated pools, the sports hall, gym, fitness studio and astro turf, and the April season opening.
- Companies House: Haltwhistle Swimming and Leisure Centre, 09911905 for the company registration.
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