New Sports Centre

Page last updated: 12/02/2026

Why a new sports centre is needed

Access to a modern sports centre is central to a great university experience. It supports student wellbeing and belonging, helps staff to live well and stay active, and strengthens our sporting community across campus and beyond.

Our current facilities are ageing and some spaces are no longer fit for purpose. We also know that Sheffield has insufficient swimming facilities and that the closure of our pool exacerbated this for our students, staff and local community.

A new sports centre is an opportunity to:

• keep a major sporting and wellbeing hub in the heart of the city
• bring enhanced swimming, fitness training, sport and wellbeing facilities together in one central, accessible place
• create a welcoming environment where people feel confident to take part, whether they are exercising, spectating, or meeting others
• provide a high-quality facility that serves students and staff, while also supporting the wider Sheffield community to take part in sport and physical activity
• deliver a new building that has been designed to the highest environmental credentials, in line with the University’s decarbonisation strategy

What is being proposed

Our proposal is for a new sports centre bringing together:

• swimming pool
• gym
• sports hall
• squash courts
• fitness studios
• flexible consultation rooms
• café

The new centre would be built on four existing five-a-side pitches. The full-size 3G football pitch will remain, and we also have additional pitches next to the Wave. While the pitches being lost are well-used, the new centre will compensate for this with enhanced and additional facilities that support a net increase in sporting and physical activity participation across a variety of different sports.

The new centre would wholly replace our existing sports buildings at Goodwin. The current, under-sized sports hall would remain open and in use throughout construction, as far as practicable. These sites will be redeveloped at a future date, but not as part of these proposals as plans are not fixed at this stage.

Internal Layouts of proposed sports centre

Internal Layouts of proposed sports centre

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Design approach and location

The proposals respond to the site’s topography by positioning the new building at a lower level while creating an inviting pedestrian arrival from Whitham Road.

This approach is intended to:

• reduce the visual impact of the building on nearby streets
• provide safe and welcoming access from a key pedestrian and public transport route
• create views across the playing fields towards Crookes Valley
• support safer access from Whitham Road compared with the current access off Northumberland Road and upgraded public realm

Sustainability and ecology

The project is targeting the highest sustainability and carbon performance benchmarks, with the ambition of achieving the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard. The building’s form and spatial organisation are fundamentally shaped by a lean, integrated design approach, resulting in a highly efficient and optimised energy and carbon model. The space planning strategy is rooted in passive design principles, taking advantage of the site’s natural orientation and existing tree foliage sheltering the building from the south. Environmental zoning carefully separates warm, wet areas from cool, dry spaces, with a central public atrium acting as a thermal and social buffer.

The roof is designed as an active environmental plane, maximising opportunities for on-site solar generation, heat collection, daylight penetration, and natural ventilation. It is designed to accommodate approximately 1,260 m² of photovoltaic panels. Integrated heat recovery and greywater recycling systems further reduce operational energy and water consumption, supporting the building’s long-term environmental performance.

Alongside this, we want to enhance existing woodland and green corridors, and introduce new planting and green infrastructure that supports biodiversity and creates calmer, greener places to spend time. The building is set back from Northumberland Road to maintain a landscape buffer. We will protect mature trees as much as possible, and any trees lost will be replaced on a 2:1 basis in line with the University's tree replacement policy. The site layout has also been designed to avoid disturbing nearby badger setts.

Northumberland Road

Northumberland Road is an important route for many different users - people walking and cycling between parts of the city and campus, visitors arriving by bus, local residents living in and travelling through the area, and sports centre users coming and going throughout the day. We want to ensure an approach that improves safety and works well in practice for everyone.

The centre is proposed be accessed via Whitham Road, rather than Northumberland Road. Coach drop off for matches is proposed to remain on Northumberland Road.

Alongside the building proposals, we are particularly keen to hear your views on:

• safer crossings and easier movement for people walking, wheeling and using mobility aids
• how cycling can be made safer and more comfortable, including how cycle movements interact with crossings and junctions
• traffic speeds, driver behaviour and the overall feel of the street
• how to avoid unintended impacts on neighbouring residential streets
• access needs, including servicing, drop-off, and accessibility
• how the street can feel greener, calmer and more welcoming 

We are working closely with Sheffield City Council on the approach and any future proposals would follow the appropriate Council and statutory processes.

What happens next

We are sharing these proposals as part of a pre-planning consultation, ensuring views are captured before a formal planning application is submitted

Following the consultation events, we will:

• review and summarise feedback
• refine the proposals where we can
• publish a short ‘you said, we did’ update on this page
• submit a full planning application to Sheffield City Council

Your comments will be considered alongside factors such as safety, accessibility, technical constraints, cost, and planning policy. We will use what we hear to refine the proposals where we can, and to understand what matters most to different groups. 

Following this consultation, the scheme will be submitted for full planning permission to Sheffield City Council, as which point there will be a further opportunity to comment through the formal, statutory planning process. This includes the ability to support or object to the application via Sheffield City Council’s public consultation.

Exact dates for construction of this facility are not yet confirmed, as they will depend on various factors including the planning process, and further University governance approval post planning. Once dates are clearer, we will share them on this page.

How to have your say

You can share feedback in any of the following ways:

• attend one of the public drop-in events (details above)
• complete the online feedback form
• for general questions about this project or process, email campusdevelopment@sheffield.ac.uk

Images courtesy of FaulknerBrowns.