We are anticipating construction for Stage 1 to start in early 2026 and a grand opening in early 2027.

Future stages of the facility are not yet funded and so have no scheduled construction timeframes.

This will be a holistic health and sporting excellence facility catering for many user groups including avid swimmers, athletes, families, casual swimmers, people needing access to health facilities for rehabilitation, as well as access to other health facilities such as saunas, spas, gyms and allied health consulting rooms (e.g. physiotherapists, psychologists).

It will be a purpose-built facility suitable for high-level aquatic events.

Modern aquatic facilities are never built as just a pool. Pools are expensive to operate on an annual basis and the inclusion of other services such as gym facilities, fitness classes, health consulting rooms, sports education spaces, and sporting administration offices, improve the commercial viability of the facility and minimise the ongoing operations cost to ratepayers.

No. The Tamworth Olympic ‘City' Pool (opened in 1936) and Tamworth South and West Memorial ‘Scully' Pool (opened in 1968) are both ageing facilities that do not meet current community needs. Whilst they receive regular maintenance and have costly upkeeps, they are approaching the end of their viable lifecycles.

Scully will be the first to close at the end of the 2026/2027 season (dates have not been confirmed as it depends on progress of construction of the new Aquatics Centre).

Options are currently being investigated for the city pool and include redeveloping it and turning it into a recreational lagoon style pool.

More information can be found

here https://haveyoursay.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/tamworth-adventure-pool

Yes. The new centre will include unisex accessible toilets, an adult change facility, an accessible change area, accessible entryways, ramped pool access and accessible parking spaces.

The 50m pool also includes a moveable floor at one end which can be set in line with the surrounding floor level for access, and then lowered into the water.

Tamworth Buslines currently operates a regular service from the Tamworth CBD out to the Sports and Entertainment Precinct all day.

As the facility is constructed, Council will continue to work with local bus operators to ensure the new facility is adequately serviced to enable all members of the community to have suitable access.

This is to be decided at a later date and included as part of the regular fees and charges process.

The facility will include two main swimming pools – a 10 lane 50m pool, and a separate warm water pool.

The 50m pool includes a swim wall and a moveable floor which are the newest technology in multi-purpose pools. This allows the pool to be split into two 25m pools with the swim wall in the upright position to allow multiple adjacent uses.

This could mean swim clubs training in 25m lanes on one side and water polo on the other (with netting across the pool to stop balls). The moveable floor in the deep end provides the flexibility to have a 2m deep pool for water polo, 1.2m deep pool for general swimming and recreation, or a less than 1m deep pool for learn to swim classes. This ensures the facility caters for different users simultaneously to maximise value for money from the pools being provided.

The warm water pool allows for program activities and leisure with an integrated spa and adjacent sauna.

The centre will have a number of pools catering to different users and will be large enough to cater for most events, whilst other areas not used by the event will still be open to the general public.

By installing a swim wall and a moveable floor within the 50m pool, the facility has the ability to split up the aquatic areas for different uses to ensure maximum use of the space.

It is possible that some major events (such as state or national events) may result in the aquatics facilities being closed to the general public.

The facility includes many features aimed at maximising water efficiency. One of these is the use of ultra-fine filtration systems instead of conventional sand filters. These filters require very little water to clean them (backwashing) compared to the large amount of water used for cleaning sand filters.

Another feature is the air handling and climate control within the aquatics halls. By controlling the temperature and humidity an indoor facility can limit the amount of water lost from the pools due to evaporation.

There are water reserves that can be used to ensure the pools continue to operate. These include onsite rainwater detention and the reuse of pool water to clean concourses.

The Special Rate Variation that has been implemented ensures our community is able to continue to grow and thrive with new infrastructure such as this. This is just one aspect that it is assisting in helping the community to grow into the future. Two thirds of the SRV is being allocated to road maintenance.

Council was also able to secure $24 million from the State and Federal governments - a significant investment that would have otherwise required Council funding.

Yes. This project has been in the planning phase for a number of years. To see more about the journey including some feedback from community consultation visit https://haveyoursay.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/tamworth-regional-aquatic-leisure-centre

Council is also consulting key stakeholders with the on the project including Tamworth Aquatic Group, Water Polo NSW, Swimming NSW, and other key stakeholders within Tamworth.

The pools we currently have are not accessible, do not meet the needs of the current community and hence will not meet the needs of the future community with expected growth, and are both reaching the end of their lifespan.

The current conditions of the pools and associated infrastructure would require them to be replaced. Feasibility estimates for the replacements were developed and presented to Council, with these options still only offering seasonal outdoor pools, with no additional aquatic, health, or fitness provisions.

Being a cutting-edge facility will mean that it can cater for high-level events and therefore bring more visitors to town which is a great way to help boost the local economy for the hospitality and transport industry. It will also bring new job opportunities to Tamworth.

Being an indoor facility, it will be open year round, with daily hours still to be determined closer to its opening.

The facility will cater for learn to swim and a number of structured and unstructured fitness options.