• About
    • Ethics policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Ownership, funding and corrections
    • Complaints procedure
    • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Newsletter
Brighton and Hove News
20 June, 2025
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Opinion
    • Community
  • Arts and Culture
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Food and Drink
  • Sport
    • Brighton and Hove Albion
    • Cricket
  • Newsletter
  • Public notices
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Opinion
    • Community
  • Arts and Culture
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Food and Drink
  • Sport
    • Brighton and Hove Albion
    • Cricket
  • Newsletter
  • Public notices
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
Brighton and Hove News
No Result
View All Result
Home Hove

King Alfred pools to remain closed until Easter

by Jo Wadsworth
Wednesday 18 Jan, 2023 at 5:40PM
A A
5

King Alfred Leisure Centre – Picture courtesy of Wikiwand

The swimming pools at King Alfred will remain closed until Easter because of boiler issues.

The pools were first closed on Friday, January 6 when gremlins hit the pool’s heating control panels.

By Monday, leisure centre operator Freedom Leisure was emailing members to advise them they would be closed for at least a fortnight.

This afternoon, Brighton and Hove City Council tweeted that “major technical issues” meant the pools would not reopen until mid-April.

Darryl Keech, Brighton and Hove Area Manager for Freedom Leisure said: “We are very disappointed that we are not able to open the pool due to this technical failure.

“We would like to reassure customers that we are doing everything we can to repair the boiler system and its controls.

“This is so we can, as soon as possible, heat the water, re-open the pool and provide the service our customers and the residents of Brighton and Hove deserve.”

Freedom Leisure, which manages the centre on behalf of the council, will be contacting customers with options to suspend memberships and re-locate swimming lessons and will provide regular updates.

The gym, sports halls, studios and ballroom currently remain open.

The council said that due to its age, the King Alfred building is becoming increasing difficult to operate and maintain. The pools were previously briefly closed in October for technical issues.

Following this latest closure, investigations by specialist contactors had found significant problems which means major work must be carried out to replace the building controls and repair the associated boilers.

Freedom Leisure is working with council officers and contractors to complete the required works as soon as possible and to keep the facility open until a new replacement King Alfred/West Hub is delivered.

Plans to replace the ageing leisure centre have stalled in recent years after a developer pulled out of an ambitious scheme to build a new centre alongside hundreds of homes.

Crest Nicholson had been selected by Brighton and Hove City Council to redevelop the site in 2016, but rising building costs and uncertainties led it to abandon its plans in 2019.

Discussions around this are currently at an early stage, with a potential site for a new leisure centre not yet identified.

The council says it’s unlikely work on this will start until the end of next year at the earliest.

ShareTweetShareSendSendShare

Comments 5

  1. Billy Short says:
    2 years ago

    Someone needs to comment on this.
    I happen to live nearby, and I was intending to take out a month long membership to improve my fitness, and because in summer I normally swim in the sea – but it is now the coldest time of the year for sea swimming.
    So this closure is a personal disappointment for me.

    But I also know that it doesn’t take months to repair a boiler.
    So is this a boiler repair problem, or is it really an argument over who pays for the repairs – the council or the franchised contractor?

    This story smells once again of an over active council PR department blaming technical issues – when really administrative or budget ineptitude are to blame.
    And how convenient for them that they won’t need to pay to heat the pool over the winter months.
    Will this pool ever re-open?
    This city is really in a mess right now. But we are not helped by the cheerleading propaganda we are being fed.

    Reply
  2. Robert Pattinson says:
    2 years ago

    I think its the high energy costs that are also a issue.

    Reply
  3. Grsham says:
    2 years ago

    Typical council dosent want to spend any money as they want to knock it down for housing

    Reply
  4. Christopher Hawtree says:
    2 years ago

    If you look at the boilers, you will see that they are ancient and in a terrible state. The matter of a new pool has been going on for… fifty-four years.

    Reply
    • Billy Short says:
      2 years ago

      So we’ve known since 2019 that we are not getting the new pool as part of the Crest Nicholson redevelopment of the site.
      If they have also known the boilers are no longer fit for purpose then their recent breakdown has been a predictable event.
      We’re now told the pool may remain shut until after Easter – and that presumably means the costs of a new boiler can be budgeted for in the next financial year.
      Or will the pool never re-open?
      Hopefully the staff are being given jobs elsewhere.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Most read

Condemned: 8 council blocks of flats face demolition

Crash closes A27 in both directions

Nine Inch Nails at the top of their game

Conspiracy theorist guilty of shoving trans activist

Brighton man jailed for years of abusing girls starting when he was just 10

Duo sought in connection with bag theft

Fake Uber driver convicted of kidnap and sex attacks for second time

King Alfred pools to remain closed until Easter

Tough decisions steer council finances into the black

Councillors to debate ways to manage Airbnbs

Newsletter

Arts and Culture

  • All
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Food and Drink
‘Nice To See You’ Thistle.

‘Nice To See You’ Thistle.

20 June 2025
You aren’t doing it wrong (if no one knows what you are doing)

You aren’t doing it wrong (if no one knows what you are doing)

20 June 2025
Cruel Intentions – 90s Nostalgia and A Great Story

Cruel Intentions – 90s Nostalgia and A Great Story

20 June 2025
Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus know how to party!

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus know how to party!

20 June 2025
Load More

Sport

  • All
  • Brighton and Hove Albion
  • Cricket
Brighton and Hove Albion sign Italy international

Brighton and Hove Albion sign Italy international

by Frank le Duc
17 June 2025
0

Brighton and Hove Albion have signed a 21-year-old Italy international to add to the Seagulls’ defensive options. Diego Coppola has...

Sussex Sharks open T20 Blast with a win

Sussex Sharks stay top of their group with T20 triumph at Glamorgan

by Blake Bint - ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
14 June 2025
0

Glamorgan 172 (18.5 overs) Sussex 199-7 (20 overs) Sussex won by 27 runs. Sussex 4 points, Glamorgan 0 points. Sussex...

Sussex Sharks open T20 Blast with a win

Rain saves Sussex Sharks in T20 against Essex at Hove

by Adrian Colley
13 June 2025
0

Sussex 23-3 (3.1 overs) Essex 177-4 (17 overs) No result Essex’s hopes of claiming their first win of the season...

Brighton and Hove Albion announce Kostoulas signing

Brighton and Hove Albion announce Kostoulas signing

by Frank le Duc
12 June 2025
0

Brighton and Hove Albion have announced the signing of 18-year-old striker Charalampos Kostoulas from Greek champions Olympiacos on a five-year...

Load More
January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec   Feb »

RSS From Sussex News

  • Sex attacker’s victim died days after court ordered retrial 19 June 2025
  • Jury convicts fake Uber driver of kidnap and sex attacks for second time 19 June 2025
  • A27 closed in both directions after crash 19 June 2025
  • Hospital trust agrees six-figure payout after seven-year battle over traumatic birth 17 June 2025
  • CPS drops rape case against Sussex Police officer 17 June 2025
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy
  • Complaints
  • Ownership, funding and corrections
  • Ethics
  • T&C

© 2023 Brighton and Hove News

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Opinion
  • Arts and Culture
    • Music
    • Theatre
  • Sport
    • Cricket
  • Newsletter
  • Public notices
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Contact

© 2023 Brighton and Hove News