Artists impression showing how the new £60 million Sandwell aquatics centre will look have been unveiled. The state of the art facility with Olympic-sized swimming pool, 25-metre diving pool and capacity for 1,000 spectators will be built in Smethwick on Londonderry Lane. At the end of the Games, it will become a leisure centre. 

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Artists impression showing how the new £60 million Sandwell aquatics centre will look have been unveiled. The state of the art facility with Olympic-sized swimming pool, 25-metre diving pool and capacity for 1,000 spectators will be built in Smethwick on Londonderry Lane. At the end of the Games, it will become a leisure centre. 


Members of the public now have a couple of weeks to comment on the plans for the swimming pool.

Sandwell Council has commented as follows: “We want your views on the design and facility mix. This will support the formal planning application which will be submitted after the consultation period has ended.”

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In respect of sustainability, MP Dame Caroline Spelman, who was Environment Secretary during the 2012 Olympics, has said: "I had a responsibility as Environment Secretary for the sustainability of the Olympic Games in 2012, and one of the important questions you have to be able to answer when it comes to the sustainability of a sporting event is will those facilities be sustainable in the future,

Sustainability is a three-pronged concept. It’s economic, environmental and social. So I can see it’s always going to be difficult where you’ve got to break some new ground, but one of the new facilities would come to Sandwell, and it would be a lasting benefit for the community.

But in terms of sustainability, if you look at what is happening, the augmentation of seating capacity is mostly designed because we’ve learnt from the London Olympics that you can build temporary seating to bump up the capacity of your facility, that you can then take back down so that you’re not left with a white elephant.

And you won’t get a white elephant. You will get a great legacy in Sandwell."

Councillor Ian Ward has said that arrangements will need to be made between Sandwell Council and Sport England over the use of green belt land but still feels that 2022 will be the ‘Greenest Games’ to date and he adds "I think for Sandwell to have what I believe will be the best aquatics centre in the country, post games, is going to be a fantastic boost for Sandwell."