The spectacular Sunderland Aquatic Centre which is being developed by Sunderland City Council next to the city’s Stadium of Light will open its doors to the public on April 18.

The venue, which has already been earmarked as a potential training camp for the 2012 Olympics, will be the first 50 metre pool in the North East and the only one between Leeds and Edinburgh.

It will also be the most environmentally friendly pool in the country – filtering and recycling every single drop of water which falls on its roof for re-use in the pool.

Said Sunderland City Council Leader, Cllr Bob Symonds: "The City Council has worked long and hard to make this a reality. The Sunderland Aquatic Centre is one of the finest facilities in the whole of the country. There's no doubt it will offer superb facilities for talented swimmers but, most importantly, it's a fantastic community facility and somewhere families can take their children to have fun.

"It's not only a first for Sunderland but for North East England and it will leave a lasting legacy for whole generations of young swimmers to come. This is very much a pool of the future.”

With a 10-lane 50-metre main pool, a 25-metre diving pool and seating for 500 spectators the Sunderland Aquatic Centre has the ability to cater for high profile national and regional swimming competitions.

In addition its moveable floors, which can vary the water depth from anywhere between 0 to 2 metres in the main pool and 0 to 4 metres in the diving pool, make it as suitable for toddlers learning to swim as talented swimmers.

And the clever design of the building is such that the 50 metre main pool also has a moveable boom, which allows the pool to be divided up to cater for everything from aqua-fit and family fun with inflatables to budding Olympians - all at the same time.

The £20million Aquatic Centre will also be one of the most accessible swimming pools in the country, trailblazing the latest disabled accessible features which mean that everyone will be able to take advantage of its superb facilities.

It will also boast a state of the art wellness centre, delivered in partnership with the city's Teaching Primary Care Trust, where people prescribed exercise by their GPs will be able to take advantage of some of the most advanced technogym equipment in the country, alongside regular gym users.

Sunderland Aquatic Centre has been funded by Sunderland City Council, Sport England, European Regional Development Fund, One NorthEast, TyneWear Partnership, Sunderland arc and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

Details of an outdoor spectacular being planned to mark the Sunderland Aquatic Centre's opening to the public are due to be announced soon.

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last updated 25/03/08