Farnborough leisure centre

Update – June 2025

At the end of the month we will be sharing our latest designs and proposals as part of a pre-planning application public consultation.

We will link through to the consultation form on this web page from 30 June.

There will also be three drop-in sessions for you to see the designs, chat to the team, and give your comments. These will be taking place on:

• Thursday 3 July at the council offices, Farnborough, 2pm to 7pm
• Monday 7 July, at the council offices, Farnborough, 9am to midday
• Saturday 12 July, at the Princes Mead shopping centre, Farnborough (on the Asda side) 10am to 1pm

Location and facilities

The plans are for: 

• A 25-metre swimming pool and learner pool
• A gym offering more than 100 fitness stations
• Specialist power-assisted gym equipment for people who are less mobile or active
• Studio space
• A spin studio
• Soft play area
• A café

The new leisure centre is planned to be built on the current Queensmead car park.

Parking

With the Queensmead car park removed for the new leisure centre, the parking will be on the neighbouring Pinehurst car park site.  

The Meads multi-storey car park would be available as the main town centre shopping car park during the building work.

Old leisure centre site

As part of our plans, the old leisure centre site will be handed over for new homes as part of the wider long-term development of the civic quarter, which would include the planned new public park area. The skate park will remain where it is for the moment. 

Next steps

The council will now progress to the detailed design stage followed by the development of a comprehensive business case, with the aim of submitting a new planning application in the autumn.

Building work could then begin in spring 2026, with a scheduled opening of autumn 2027.

Keep me informed about the leisure centre

If you would like to be kept informed about our proposals and how you can get involved, please let us know.

Closure of the old leisure centre

The old Farnborough leisure centre was closed because of the pandemic.

In 2021, when lockdown ended, the cost of reopening the centre, along with increased payments to our contractor, came to more than £1 million. This meant we could not afford to reopen the centre without cutting other services.

Instead, we decided to press ahead with clearing the site in preparation for the new centre, while at the same time working with our partners and other organisations on what it should include, and making sure there was a sound business case for it.

Our original plan was to extend the scope of the centre to become a leisure and cultural hub and we successfully bid for £20 million from the government towards the scheme. This did not cover the full or increased costs though. 

We also secured outline planning consent for the wider civic quarter site, of which the new centre will be a key part.

Alternative local leisure facilities

You will find details about alternative local leisure facilities and about our Aldershot Pools and Fitness Centre on our website. You will also find more local options on the Farnham Leisure Centre and Places Leisure Camberley websites.