Councillors have given the green light for work to continue on the detailed design for the long-awaited proposed Tamworth Regional Aquatic Centre and Northern Inland Centre of Sport and Health. At the 14 May Ordinary Meeting they approved in principle the initial concept design and authorised Council’s General Manager to submit a development application for the project.
Council proposes to develop a major aquatics and sports health centre at the Tamworth Sports and Entertainment Precinct with a total budget of $45 million.
A report to the meeting included several artist renders of the concept designs. It features a state-of-the-art 50m indoor pool with a 1.2m fixed shallow end, moveable floor in the deep end to provide 1.2m to 2m depth, and a central swim wall to allow the pool to be set up as a 50m pool, 25m pool or a combination of both. The building design includes features such as a large entry awning - which will maximise its thermal performance reducing ongoing operational costs - and income-generating elements such as an outdoor cafe area.
The facility is intended to be delivered in stages as funding becomes available. Council has secured $15 million from the NSW Government and has applied for Australian Government funding.
''We don't have a community-owned heated pool and the community has been calling for action on this for 30 years - this step forward is great news,'' Tamworth Region Mayor Russell Webb said after the meeting.