Swimming pool planned for demolished office site

Plans for a new swimming pool are to be submitted by a local authority by the end of the month.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council said Thornaby Pool would be demolished and replaced by a new pool at the site of a former office block in the town.

A council spokesperson said the old pool would not be closed until the new pool was finished and open to the public in 2026.

Labour councillor Nigel Cooke said the move "aligns perfectly with the council's ambitions to transform its six town centres to ensure they remain vibrant places".

Assuming the plans are approved by the council, the new 25-metre pool would be located on the site of Phoenix House, which was demolished last year.

Work on the new building was expected to begin in early 2025, the council said.

Mr Cooke said it was one of the council's priorities to tackle vacant properties in the town centre and replace an "empty, tired building like Phoenix House with a modern community asset".

The project is the latest step in efforts to transform the town centre with £23.9m of government money through the Thornaby Town Deal.

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