Site, size of $311M Newton Community Centre stir debate on campaign trail
Published 3:00 pm Tuesday, September 15, 2026
A ceremonial groundbreaking in Newton unearthed political debate about where a community centre should be built in the area.
Shovels in hand Tuesday (Sept. 15), mayor and four councillors flipped dirt on the future site of a $311-million facility, years in the planning and one of the largest capital investments in Surrey history.
By 2030 it could be built south of Newton Arena off 136B Street, where a “BIG THINGS ARE HAPPENING” sign now stands.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks the start of a new chapter for Newton, a new chapter for Surrey,” Mayor Brenda Locke raved. “Newton is Surrey’s largest town centre with more than 160,000 people. That’s bigger than the Township of Langley. When you think about that, it becomes clear why Newton needs a facility of significance.”
The original community centre site was to the west, on the former Rona store site on King George Boulevard, at 70A Avenue, where the previous city council under mayor Doug McCallum held a groundbreaking event in September 2022 amid a civic election campaign.
The site switch happened in 2024 with direction from Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC), the city’s for-profit real estate development company.
Fast-forward to 2026 and the current civic election campaign.
“This is going to be a much larger facility than the one planned by the previous administration,” said Locke, seeking re-election as mayor. “This is a little over double the size for the actual footprint and about three times the financial cost. So it’s a significantly larger project that we’re doing here.”
Locke says the 175,000-square-foot community centre, to include two pools, two gyms, fitness area, library, child care and more, will fit well with existing recreation facilities nearby (arena, wave pool).
“The buildings you see here to the north are really still in good shape, and they still have life to them, so they’re going to be around for a while,” she said during a groundbreaking event alongside city councillors Rob Stutt, Harry Bains, Pardeep Kooner and Doug Elford.
The community centre site was long home to PLOT community garden, which will move to land outside the seniors centre, and a few houses, now demolished.
McCallum, Safe Surrey Coalition candidate for mayor, says Locke “scrapped a shovel-ready community centre, threw away millions taxpayers already spent, made Newton wait five extra years and now wants applause for it a month before the election.”
On King George Boulevard, the community centre was set to open in early 2025, McCallum notes.
“Brenda Locke became mayor, and the first thing she did for Newton was cancel it,” he charges. “Not because the project was flawed. Not because the money was short. Because it was not hers. And when she scrapped it, she threw away what Surrey taxpayers had already paid for (including) $4.4 million paid to the architects to design it.”
He promises to build Newton “the biggest community centre and swimming pool this city has, and we will build it on whichever site lets us build the biggest facilities the fastest.”
Elford, seeking re-election to council with Safe Surrey Coalition, said people can “argue back and forth which is the good side or the bad side” of King George Boulevard for the facility.
“The people I work out with at the gym every day, they don’t want to wait, they want to just move forward with this,” Elford said. “We can’t delay this for another year.
“Now we can figure out what to do with that Rona site (on King George),” he added. “I’ve been pushing for deeply affordable housing for the longest time. It’s a perfect site to put what I call deeply affordable housing, where we can keep our people, our young people, living and working in the community. We’re desperate for that right now.”
SCDC is doing “a look-see at everything” in the Newton core, he added.
“It’s challenging because there’s going to be a change of council potentially, and maybe a change of opinions,” Elford said. “Things can get scrubbed, who knows. It’s a challenging time to make firm decisions, let’s put it that way.”