The future of a beloved outdoor swimming pool in Northumberland is set to be secured for decades to come after plans were approved for much-needed upgrades.

Haltwhistle Swimming Pool attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, but is becoming expensive to maintain due to dated equipment.

Parts of the plant room are original and date back to when the pool first opened in the 1970s. As a result, proposals came before Northumberland County Council’s cabinet on Tuesday to upgrade the vital equipment at a cost of £1.1million.

Speaking at the meeting, the council’s deputy leader Coun Richard Wearmouth said: “The plant room is significantly out of date and coming to the end of its life. This is the chance to give it the equipment it needs to last for the next 30 to 40 years.

Coun Alan Sharp, Coun Rachel Mathieson, Coun Richard Wearmouth and centre manager Maxine Wilson at Haltwhistle Swimming Pool. Photo: Northumberland County Council.

placeholder image — Coun Alan Sharp, Coun Rachel Mathieson, Coun Richard Wearmouth and centre manager Maxine Wilson at Haltwhistle Swimming Pool. Photo: Northumberland County Council.

“The pool is an absolutely fantastic resource for Haltwhistle. They have had tons of people visiting over the summer from all over the region.”

A report to the cabinet stated: “Without intervention there is an increasing risk of equipment failure, service disruption, reduced operational capacity and higher maintenance costs.”

Cabinet member for finance Coun Nick Oliver represents the Corbridge ward, which like Haltwhistle is in the Tynedale area. He recalled spending many family days out at the site.

Coun Oliver said: “It’s a fantastic facility, it’s been there a long time. My children are grown up now, but we often used it and had children’s parties there – it’s a fantastic venue and I heartily recommend it.

“There’s a huge interest in open air swimming and this is the only facility in Northumberland to offer it, and it’s really, really good.”

Work at the pool is set to get under way by the end of the year and be complete by spring 2027.

The money will come from the town’s £3million Borderlands Town Deal funding pot. Coun Oliver said that other projects under the Borderlands umbrella were progressing in the town and that “everyone was working together on some really good projects”.

Haltwhistle is one of seven town centre regeneration projects in the county progressing through the Northumberland Borderlands Place Programme, a 10-year £21million investment initiative – providing each town with up to £3million of investment.