£27 Million Spent So Far on Hartlepool’s Highlight Leisure Centre — And its Not Even Open Yet !

£27 Million Spent and Counting & an Opening Date Pushed Back: Hartlepool’s Highlight Leisure Centre, will it come in under or over budget ?

11th Jan 2026

Hartlepool Borough Council’s flagship Highlight Leisure Centre has once again become the centre of many questions by local's, not only over its escalating costs, but now also over construction delays which have pushed back the opening date into 2026.

According to the most recent reports seen by The Teesside & Durham Post, Hartlepool Borough Council has now paid out almost £27.0 million to the construction firm Wates. Despite this significant level of investment, there seemingly remains no clear public confirmation as to whether the project will stay within its revised budget — or whether further overspending lies ahead.

A Project Already Defined by Escalating Costs

The Highlight Leisure Centre, being delivered by Hartlepool Borough Council, was originally approved with a budget of £25.65 million in 2019/20.

That figure has since risen dramatically, with the current estimated total cost approximately £34.65 million pounds, an increase of around £9 million before the facility has even opened.

Construction began in late 2023 on the former Jacksons Landing site on the Hartlepool Marina which Hartlepool Borough Council controversially purchased at the height of the period of Austerity.

Opening Date Pushed Back to 2026

When the scheme was promoted, the Highlight Leisure Centre was initially expected to open in late 2025. However, this timetable has since slipped, raising speculation that costs on the development could be spiraling once more, with the opening of the new state of the art centre now pushed back to spring 2026, with construction delays cited as the reason for the revised schedule. For residents, this means waiting longer for a facility that is already costing substantially more than first promised — while interest and holding costs continue to accrue in the background.

Funding Breakdown: Who's Paying?

While the council has emphasised the role of external funding, Hartlepool taxpayers sadly remain heavily committed to the project.

Funding sources include:

• Tees Valley Combined Authority – the largest contributor

• Sport England – £2.5 million grant

• Hartlepool Borough Council – contributing between £12.9 million and £16.9 million

  
  

With nearly £27 million pounds said to have already been spent, the scope for containing costs is diminishing rapidly.

Why Have Costs Risen?

Council previously reported that the initial increase in the construction costs for the leisure centre were due to several familiar pressures: Inflation being one of the chief issues within the construction sector, as well as rising energy and material costs which seemingly hit both Civil Construction & the Housebuilding Sector equally as hard.

Nevertheless, The Highlight Leisure Centre was built with the sole purpose to replace the ageing Mill House Leisure centre in Hartlepool's Raby Road and is being marketed as a modern, multi-use leisure facility.

Planned features for the new state of the art facility include:

• Three swimming pools (main pool, learner pool, and leisure pool with slide)

• Gym and fitness studios

• Soft play areas

• Café and social spaces

Its also claimed that once construction is complete (said to be Late Summer of 2026, according to a source close to the project), Hartlepool's Mill House will see its services transferred to the new centre & the Mill House Leisure Centre site earmarked for future re-development.

The Unanswered Question: Will Costs Rise Again?

Despite the scale of spending and the now-delayed opening, there's still no public assurance that the £34.65 million budget will not be exceeded.

For a town already facing financial pressure, borrowing concerns, and service reductions, the lack of clarity is unsettling. Hartlepool residents have seen major projects before where revised budgets quietly became minimum estimates rather than firm limits.

Whether Hartlepool Borough Council can deliver the Highlight Leisure Centre without further cost overruns — and justify the delay — remains an open question that local taxpayers will likely be watching closely.