Official Opening of The New Hinckley Leisure Centre

The Official Opening Ceremony of the new £15 million Hinckley Leisure Centre, took place yesterday on Thursday 9th June on the site of the former council offices on Argents Mead.

Many honoured guests were in attendance to officially celebrate the opening of the site including, The Mayor of Hinckley Richard Allen, representatives from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Olympic Silver & Double Commonwealth Gold Medallist, Sharron Davies MBE, Places for People Leisure Management, and its team of Pellikaan Construction and Roberts Limbrick Architects. The dignitaries were given a tour of the site of the new centre before a commemorative plaque was unveiled by the Mayor and Sharron Davies to document the ceremony.

The consortium who designed and built the new leisure centre was lead by Places for People Leisure, with the facility opened to the general public on May 3rd. The facility includes an eight court sports hall, a modern and well-equipped café and soft adventure play facility, an eight-lane 25 metre pool and a learner pool both with moveable floors to ensure the pools are utilised by a range of swimmers. Further facilities include a family splash area, sauna and steam rooms, along with dance studios, a multipurpose meeting room and a Group Cycling studio.

During its open weekend last month, members of the local community were offered the chance to try out a whole host of activities for free and more than 10,000 people came along to test out the new pools and take a look at the state-of-the-art new gym and fitness facilities on offer.

The surrounding space of the new leisure centre has been landscaped with a grassed play area suitable for school and community usage. The state of the art venue will act as a hub of health and wellbeing, inspiring the local community to enjoy, and reap the many benefits of, physical activity. The previous leisure centre on Coventry Road in Hinckley remained open until the new facility was unveiled last month.

The talk of the day focussed on the need to continually improve participation and encouraging engagement in physical activity within the local community. Mike Hall, Leader of Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council comments: "We are delighted to officially open the new Hinckley Leisure Centre and are already overwhelmed with the positive response we've had so far from the local community. It's fantastic to have Sharron Davies here to celebrate with us and our new swimming pools have already garnered much attraction from residents and our local swimming club. This new facility will act as a hub for the health and wellbeing for community members across the borough and we are proud that we can offer a wide range of activities for individuals to engage with. Physical activity is important for not only social and physical but also mental wellbeing and we hope that this new facility will inspire a generation to get up and reap the rewards that engagement has to offer."

Speaking at the Official Opening, Sharron Davies commented: "I've been to many leisure centres in my time and Hinckley is without a doubt one of the best I've ever been to. That's not just because of the superb facilities but because of the valuable partnerships Places for People Leisure have made with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, the local schools and the local clubs. With many swimming pools facing closure across the UK, it is great to see a facility with so much to offer. Allowing the local community access to swimming facilities for those who are just beginning their swimming journey right up to those who are regular participants is key to ensure that we encourage as many people as possible to gain this vital life skill. I am proud to be a part of the official opening for the centre and understand the importance a facility like this has upon residents, allowing them the opportunity to a wide range of activities on their doorstep."

Places for People Leisure Development Director, Peter Kirkham explains: "In partnership with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council we will work hard to improve the health and wellbeing of the local community and this new leisure centre is a step in the right direction. We are delighted to welcome a host of noted individuals to the ceremony and are happy to report that the facility has been delivered both on budget and on time. We are confident that we have created an environment in which the members of the local community can come and positively engage in leisure activities and look forward to following the progress of the centre and its members over the coming months."

Places for People Leisure currently partners 35 local authorities, managing 113 leisure centres across England. Its sites attract over 30 million visits every year and in the past seven years the award winning organisation has built 13 new leisure facilities.

Source: Text & Image - PTMagazine