For many people, Peterborough's old Regional Pool wasn't just somewhere to swim.

It was where children learned water confidence, clubs trained, families spent weekends together and thousands of residents kept active.

Now the city's replacement has moved another step closer.

Peterborough City Council has submitted its planning application for a new leisure development beside the Embankment.

If approved, it will include an eight-lane 25-metre swimming pool, a 20-metre learner and activity pool with a movable floor, a large fitness suite, studios, café, family play area, health and wellbeing rooms and community spaces.

The council hopes construction will begin in 2027, with the facility opening in 2028.

The council says the project is needed because Peterborough's existing public swimming provision is already operating at capacity and isn't expected to cope with future population growth.

It also follows the closure of the former Regional Fitness and Swimming Centre after structural problems made refurbishment uneconomic.

The plans have clear strengths. A modern building should be cheaper to run, more accessible and offer facilities the old centre couldn't.

Families, schools, swimming clubs and fitness users would all benefit from having a purpose-built venue designed around current needs.

But planning approval doesn't end the discussion.

Residents will still want answers about parking, traffic, public transport, affordability, membership prices and whether the new pool will provide enough capacity for a growing city.

Others continue to ask whether Peterborough should have replaced the former Regional Pool with a larger or even 50-metre competition-standard facility.

Those are reasonable questions.

 A leisure centre is expected to serve the city for decades, so getting the design right matters just as much as getting it built.

For now, the biggest milestone is that the project has moved from drawings towards the planning process.

The debate is no longer whether Peterborough needs a new pool  it's whether this proposal delivers the right balance of facilities, accessibility and value for the future.

If you could add one feature before construction begins, what would it be?