Ponds Forge Sheffield: Watch powerful new wave machine in action as Surf City leisure pool reopens

It is one of several new or upgraded features at the Surf City swimming pool in Sheffield city centre, which is finally reopening following a £500,000 revamp.

The lazy river has also been beefed up and now flows faster, there is a disability friendly zone with a new hoist to lift people in and out of the water, and the baby pool features brand new equipment, including a mini slide.

The pool, where the water is heated to between 30C and 32C, reopens to the public on Monday, January 31, having been closed since July 2021 – but a select few people were invited in over the weekend to take the splash.

What activities are available at Ponds Forge Surf City leisure swimming pool?

Judging by the squeals of delight which reverberated around the venue on Saturday afternoon, they liked what they saw.

The wave machine now features six patterns rather than two, and this video shows how much fun families had even at one of the lower settings.

The pool closed last summer due to safety concerns over the flumes, which had to be removed after deteriorating badly while the venue was closed during lockdown.

Sheffield City Trust, which runs the site, took the opportunity to carry out a full refurbishment.

It said reinstating the flumes would have meant an even longer closure as they would have to be custom-made. A spokeswoman for the trust pointed out that there are still flumes available at Hillsborough Leisure Centre and claimed most cities only have one pool with flumes.

What changes have been made to the lazy river and wave machine at Ponds Forge?

Stevan Parkin, deputy general manager at Ponds Forge, said the initial feedback from those invited down over the weekend had been great.

“People are absolutely thrilled it's back and the new wave machine and upgraded lazy river have proved really popular,” he said.

“We’ve really focused on what the community wants, and we’ve introduced lots of new sessions we’ve never hosted before.

“There are lots of improvements. Before, we were operating with two pumps and now we have six, and the wave machine used to have two patterns but now it has six.”

Bookings opened last Wednesday and Mr Parkin said the demand had been huge, with some 200 people reserving a slot during the first two hours and sessions for next weekend almost at capacity already.

How much does it cost to swim at Ponds Forge Surf City leisure pool?

Activities include leisure swimming, accessible sessions, social swims, ladies only, Little Swimmers for under-five-year-olds, swimming lessons and new dementia friendly sessions.

A spokeswoman for the trust said that while prices had increased slightly, thee were lots of concessions on offer, including a new discount for carers.

Leisure Swim and Little Swimmers sessions are priced £6 for adults and £3 for juniors, with under-threes charged £1 and members swimming free, while other sessions cost £3.85 for adults and £2.55 for juniors.

The leisure pool’s reopening also means the main pool, which is the only 50-metre pool around for miles, can be opened up for more lane swimming sessions.

Ponds Forge has been selected to host the 2022 British Swimming Championships in April, when Olympic champion Adam Peaty could grace its waters, and Mr Parkin said that was just one of a number of top events due to take place there this year.