Edlington centre to be demolished to make way for new facility

Demolition work is set to begin on the former Edlington Leisure Centre in Doncaster, paving the way for the building of a new facility on the site.

Edlington Leisure Centre closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened. City of Doncaster Council, which owns the venue, opened a tender for the demolition work, with the submission deadline closing on 27 March.

The new Edlington Leisure Facility, which received cabinet approval in November 2025, will include a 25m pool and will be built on the site of the existing Leisure Centre, adjacent to Sir Thomas Wharton Academy.

Construction of the new facility – a project led by leisure development specialist, ReCreation and its partners, including Box Architects – follows local feedback from residents and swimming clubs, who made it clear that they preferred a 25m swimming pool.

The estimated cost for construction is just over £6.5m and once the site is cleared, the council will then be able to finalise the construction timeline to build the new venue.

Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, said: “This is a major step forward to delivering a brand-new Leisure facility for Edlington that will include a 25m swimming pool, changing facilities, wellbeing suite with Innerva equipment, pool viewing gallery and food and drink offer.

“We have listened to residents throughout this process, which is why I am delighted to see that our new leisure facility for Edlington will include a 25m swimming pool. I know how important this was from the feedback we received, and it was essential that we went back, looked at this and made the relevant changes.

“I am proud to deliver continued investment in our leisure facilities across the City of Doncaster.”

When open, the new centre will be operated by Doncaster Culture and Leisure Trust.