Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre

The Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre is a major cost to the Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council for little benefit to residents with better facilities being located nearby (Adelaide Aquatic Centre, Cambpelltown ARC and Burnside Pool. The cost has blown out from an planned $20 million to $60 million and estimated costs are $1 million to run and maintain each year.

Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council plans Adelaide’s biggest rates rise

Erin Jones, City Editor for The Advertiser and Sunday Mail, wrote a piece titled Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council plans Adelaide’s biggest rates rise on 19th May 2025.

In the article she wrote:

An eastern suburbs council is proposing a 9.49 per cent rate rise as it combats higher than normal building costs and finishes construction of a $60m swimming pool.
Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council has proposed the highest residential rate increase of any metropolitan council, on the back of a 7 per cent rate increase the previous financial year.

Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre - Deputation to Council

This deputation is made as a result of the decision made by Council in December 2023 to proceed with the Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre in spite of the cost being three times what was expected in 2022, and the effect this will have on the future Council finances.

In 2022 & earlier the pool cost was expected to be about $20m.

In the 2023/4 budget a figure of $24m was used although it was expected that tenders would be in the order of $30m.

We spoke to this when we addressed Council prior to last year’s budget.

The $60m cost is double that of the similar facilities currently being built at Salisbury.

Payneham pool redevelopment bill springboards to $60 million

On the 20 March 2024, David Simmons broke the news that the estimated cost to redevelop the Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre has blown out from $20 million to $60 million.

Revealed today by InDaily, the Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre is now estimated to cost $60 million – up from $20 million originally announced in 2021.