Reading’s flagship leisure centre has announced the opening of its new swimming pools and dive area, one year after its official launch.

Rivermead Leisure Centre, located in Richfield Avenue, officially opened its doors to gym-goers in July 2023 with facilities including sports halls, a state-of-the-art gym and space for a range of fitness classes.

After delays in construction of the site, the council have said that they are happy to announce the official launch of the 25m main pool, a dive pool, a teaching pool and a splash-pad zone.

This will be a culmination of the £40m investment in the town’s leisure facilities.

The swimming pool will be officially opened to the public on Monday, June 17 2024.

Cllr Adele Barnett-Ward, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Leisure and Culture, said: "We are now just days away from delivering on our promise of more new pools Reading and I’m sure residents are as excited as I am at the thought of being able to enjoy the new and improved facilities over the summer break.”

"The new Rivermead Leisure Centre represents yet another significant investment by the Council and provides swimming pools that are both modern and fully fit for the future. These two new pools are part of our commitment to ensuring that everyone in the community has access to the resources they need to lead healthy and active lives. And we haven’t forgotten the fun – the splash pad is sure to become a family favourite!”

“I’m proud to be able to say the centre has been built to BREEAM Excellent environmental standards and is designed to create an inclusive fitness environment so everyone in our community can join in and experience the benefits of physical activity.”

Over a 12 day period, the 25-metre, 8-lane main swimming pool, and the teaching and diving pool were filled with 1,700,000 litres of water and will very soon be ready to welcome visitors.

Alongside the three pools, the facilities will also include two seating areas able to seat over 250 including 7 wheelchair accessible spaces and state-of-the-art accessible changing areas.

Reading Partnership Manager, Craig Woodward, said: “We are all looking forward to the opening of the new pools at Rivermead Leisure Centre, with the facilities continuing the ongoing improvements to the leisure facilities in Reading. 

"It is a very exciting time and we are looking forward to being able to welcome local residents into the pools very soon”.

Gert-Jan Peeters, director at Pellikaan Construction Ltd, said: “It is great to see the final parts of the project coming together and knowing that very soon, people will be using the new swimming pools and diving pool! We look forward to see that happen, as for our team, there is no better reward for the hard work than to see people using and enjoying the facilities that we built.”