Construction starts on new Halifax Leisure Centre

Building work has begun on a new leisure centre in Halifax, following the completion of all preparatory works that first began in October 2025. The works included the partial demolition of the old North Bridge Leisure Centre.

The project is driven by Calderdale Council, which will own the site. The council has secured £12.2m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund to help fund the new facility. When completed, facilities at the new centre will include a six-lane swimming pool with spectator seating, a learner pool, refurbished eight-court sports hall, a 120-station fitness suite, three multi-functional studios, a dedicated cycling studio, a children’s soft play and adventure area and a café and community area.

A wet changing village and a Changing Places facility for disabled people and separate dry change facilities for sports hall and gym use. The Council is working with Visits Unlimited to ensure the facilities are accessible for all. There will also be several wellbeing spaces, where health and community organisations can locate their services, creating closer connections between health, leisure and active wellbeing.

Calderdale Council has appointed contractor Tilbury Douglas to undertake the work. The centre, which is set to open in 2028, was designed by AEW Architects.

Shelagh O’Neill, Calderdale Council’s Director for Regeneration and Strategy, said: “The start of construction is a significant step forward for the Halifax Leisure Centre project, which is on track to deliver top-class sports, health and wellbeing facilities for all of Calderdale’s diverse communities in 2028.

“Teams have been busy finalising the detailed designs and doing lots of complex preparation work on site to reach this point, and creating the foundations is a vital first step in the actual construction.”