For membership and operational queries, please contact Places Leisure at enquiries@pfpleisure.org.
St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym
St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym was initially closed to allow essential maintenance, surveys and investigation works to take place.
Those detailed investigations identified additional issues requiring more extensive work than originally anticipated. Following specialist advice, Fylde Council and Places Leisure have agreed that the most effective approach is to move directly into the full refurbishment of the facility, rather than undertake short-term works which could result in further disruption and repeated closures.
This option was considered. However, the surveys and specialist investigations identified issues which would require significant work simply to facilitate a temporary reopening. Specialist advice was that undertaking short-term repairs could introduce additional cost and risk while potentially leading to further closures.
Moving directly into the full refurbishment allows the Council and Places Leisure to concentrate investment on delivering the long-term facility our community deserves.
St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym will remain closed while the full refurbishment programme is undertaken. Fylde Council and Places Leisure are currently working through the detailed programme for the project and will publish further information, including anticipated timescales, as soon as these have been finalised. We will keep this page updated as soon as there is more information to share.
The refurbishment will create a modern, multi-use leisure facility for St Annes and the wider Fylde community. Current plans include:
- a fully modernised swimming pool environment
- a new first-floor gym overlooking the sea
- a contemporary exercise studio
- spa facilities
- an indoor splash pad
- improved and accessible changing facilities
- a café
- wider improvements throughout the building
Further details and visuals will be shared as the design and construction programme develops.
Other swimming facilities currently available within Fylde include:
- Dalmeny Hotel and Leisure
- Ribby Hall Village
- St Ives Hotel
- The Grand Hotel
- Clifton Park Hotel, which operates membership and age restrictions
These are privately operated facilities and access, availability and charges are determined by each individual provider. Customers should contact the venue directly before travelling.
St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym is owned by Fylde Council, which is responsible for the building and its assets.
Places Leisure has operated St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym since 1 April 2026 under its leisure contract with Fylde Council. Places Leisure is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the leisure service, including customer memberships.
Fylde Council approved a £9.3 million investment package for swimming and leisure facilities in January 2026, supporting major investment in both St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym and the restoration of Kirkham Baths.
St Annes has also previously benefited from almost £300,000 of Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund investment towards energy-efficient boilers and solar panels.
Memberships and Swimming Lessons
Places Leisure has advised that memberships relating to St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym will be frozen during the closure and customers will not be charged until the centre reopens. Customers with individual membership queries should contact Places Leisure directly at enquiries@pfpleisure.org so that their account can be checked.
YMCA Fylde Coast operated St Annes Swimming Pool until 31 March 2026. Places Leisure became the new operator from 1 April 2026. Customers were contacted as part of the transition regarding the arrangements for moving eligible memberships to the new operator.
The YMCA and Places Leisure are separate organisations, and a YMCA membership did not automatically become a Places Leisure membership unless the necessary transfer arrangements were completed.
Not necessarily. Whether you became a Places Leisure member depends upon the arrangements made during the transfer of the service and whether your membership was transferred. Some customers chose not to transfer, or did not complete the process, and therefore remained members of YMCA rather than becoming members of Places Leisure.
If you are unsure which organisation currently holds your membership, please contact the relevant operator so that your individual account can be checked.
Places Leisure and YMCA are separate organisations. If your membership remained with YMCA and was not transferred to Places Leisure, Places Leisure cannot administer or cancel that YMCA membership. Queries relating to an existing YMCA membership will need to be resolved directly with YMCA.
If there is uncertainty about whether your membership was transferred, Places Leisure can check whether an individual has a membership recorded with them.
This may happen where the membership concerned remained a YMCA membership rather than transferring to Places Leisure. Although St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym is now operated by Places Leisure, this does not transfer responsibility for memberships which continued to be held by YMCA.
If there is any uncertainty about what happened during the transition, customers should ask Places Leisure to confirm whether they hold a current membership record before contacting YMCA regarding any remaining YMCA account.
Memberships are operational matters managed by the relevant leisure operator rather than Fylde Council.
For a Places Leisure membership, or to check whether your membership transferred to Places Leisure, please contact Places Leisure at enquiries@pfpleisure.org.
If the query relates to a membership which remained with YMCA, including payments being taken by YMCA, this will need to be raised directly with YMCA.
No. Fylde Council owns St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym but does not administer individual customer memberships. Membership administration is the responsibility of the leisure operator.
The Council will continue to work with Places Leisure to ensure that recurring issues arising from the transfer are identified and that customers are given clear information about which organisation they need to contact.
Places Leisure delivers swimming lessons in accordance with the Swim England Learn to Swim framework. Children will be mapped across to the appropriate equivalent class so that their swimming progress can continue when the pool reopens. Places Leisure will communicate directly with swimming lesson customers regarding individual arrangements.
Kirkham Baths
Yes. Kirkham Baths is being restored as part of the £9.3 million investment package approved by Fylde Council’s Full Council in January 2026. Enabling works have been completed and detailed design work is underway.
The main construction phase is expected to commence in 2027, with the intention of reopening the facility in 2028. We will keep this page updated as the programme develops.
Kirkham Baths will be restored with a reconditioned swimming pool, a new fitness suite, and refurbished changing provision. Historic features will be protected where possible. Further details will be shared as design work progresses.
Places Leisure will operate Kirkham Baths under the same 15-year leisure contract with Fylde Council that covers St Annes Swimming Pool & Gym.
General
Fylde Council will continue to publish updates as the St Annes refurbishment and Kirkham restoration programmes develop. This will include construction progress, key milestones, updated timescales and further information about the facilities being delivered. Visit www.fylde.gov.uk/swimming for the latest news on both projects.
No organisation has a statutory duty to provide public swimming. However, several organisations play important roles:
Swim England
Swim England is responsible for developing the sport of swimming and encouraging participation in aquatic activities at all levels, including recreational swimming and health and wellbeing programmes. More information here
Fylde Council
Although the council has no statutory duty to provide public swimming, it actively supports swimming provision in Fylde. The council owns St Annes Pool and currently supports and subsidises public access under the current operating arrangement.
The council is also planning considerable investment to secure and enhance access to swimming provision in the long term.
Schools
All local authority-maintained schools must provide swimming instruction either in key stage 1 or key stage 2. Pupils should be taught to:
- Swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
- Use a range of strokes effectively (e.g., front crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke)
- Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations
The Fylde Corporate Plan 2024 – 2028 includes a commitment to provide high quality parks, open spaces and leisure facilities. The strategy is to facilitate and support public swimming but not to directly operate facilities, as the council does not have the necessary resource to do this.
A new Leisure Strategy is currently being finalised to set out the long-term future for sport, physical activity and active environments across Fylde.
The strategy is being shaped by extensive community consultation, ensuring it reflects local needs, behaviours and priorities, and is grounded in the latest national guidance issued by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers on physical activity and health.
This evidence base, alongside Sport England’s Strategic Outcomes Framework and wider regional policy direction, provides a clear rationale for promoting movement, improving wellbeing and reducing inequalities.
The Strategy will therefore act as a framework for coordinated action by the Council and its partners, guiding investment, programming and facility development to support a more active Fylde.
