North Herts Council has applied to build a 15m x 10m learner pool at Royston Leisure Centre: a £4.752m project, work from February 2027, open April 2028.
North Herts Council has applied for planning permission to build a new learner pool at Royston Leisure Centre, a £4.752 million project that the council says will let hundreds more local people learn to swim.
The application went in on Friday 9 October, the council said in a press release sent to Stevenage Today on 12 October. If planning permission is granted and the construction contract is approved, work is expected to start in February 2027, with the pool due to be finished in April 2028.
What is being built
The pool will measure 15m by 10m and comes with its own changing rooms. The council says it will be used for swimming lessons, beginner swimming and family sessions.
The second benefit is to the pool Royston already has. Moving lessons and beginners into the new water will, the council says, “free up capacity within the existing main pool for public swimming, schools, lane swimming, and club usage.”
The budget was approved by the council in February 2026. Since then, it says, detailed surveys, technical investigations and early design work have been completed, and the project is now moving into its final technical design stages.
Heat pumps and solar panels
The council says the pool will be built to be as energy efficient as possible, in line with its net zero carbon target, and will use air source heat pumps and solar PV panels.
That follows the major decarbonisation works on the rest of the leisure centre, which the council says were completed in April. Those works covered insulated render on the outside walls, an air source heat pump, solar panels on the roofs, a substation and a two-storey front extension, according to the council’s planning register.
“An essential life skill”
Councillor Amy Allen, North Herts Council’s Executive Member for Environment, said:
“I am so excited to see the designs for the new pool come together and to reach this major milestone. The learner pool is going to be a valuable asset for the local community, enabling many more local children and adults to learn this essential life skill in a safe and welcoming environment.”
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. The leisure centre carries on as now. Building is not expected to begin until February 2027, and only once planning permission and the construction contract are both approved.
- Lessons and beginners get dedicated water from April 2028 if the timetable holds.
- Lane swimmers, clubs and schools should find more room in the main pool once lessons move across, the council says.
- Having your say. The application had not yet appeared when we searched the council’s planning register for Royston Leisure Centre on 12 October. Once it is registered, residents can view the plans and comment there.
Stevenage has its own new pool on the way: building has started on the town’s £45 million leisure centre, which we reported here. Earlier this month we also covered £3,479 in community grants for Royston projects.
Have your say