heaLth and fitness


£5.7m community facility opens in wolverhampton


peTe hayman


Wolverhampton City Council (WCC) has officially unveiled the new £5.7m Blakenhall Community and Healthy Living Centre. Funded primarily by All Saints and


Blakenhall Community Development, the venue was opened with the help of TV per- sonality Satnam Rana on 17 January. Facilities include a fitness suite; a young


people’s gym; and a toning suite. Sunbeam Children’s Centre will operate the venue’s crèche, while a café is scheduled to open in due course. WCC will manage the centre.


Lifestyle venues for Cheshire peTe hayman


Cheshire East Council (CEC) has revealed that new life- style centres are to be built in Crewe and Wilmslow as part of efforts to roll out the con- cept across the region. Te local authority is look-


ing to overhaul the way it delivers health and wellbeing services to residents, with the venues set to accommodate leisure, library and social care facilities. Under CEC’s plans, each lifestyle centre will be able to provide activities such as basketball; water aerobics; badminton; PC tuition and tea dances. Te initial two facilities will be followed by


Plans for the lifestyle centres will see a range of services under one roof


two further new-build centres in Congleton and Macclesfield and are designed to reduce health inequalities in Cheshire East. Andrew Knowles, the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for health and


Te facility aims to provide a ‘focus for education’


keiser unveils performance training centre in Tetbury


Tom walker


Te Keiser Performance Training Centre in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, has officially opened to the public. Te new facility, which has been fitted


out using the full range of Keiser equip- ment, is the brainchild of the company’s managing director, Tim Colston. According to Colston, the ambition is


for the Performance Training Centre is for it to become a focus for education and test- ing for personal trainers and strength and conditioning coaches.


arms-length plans for highland leisure services


peTe hayman


An arms-length organisation (ALO) could take over the running of Highland Council leisure services under plans being worked up by the local authority. Sports coaching development, 16 leisure


centres, nine swimming pools and nearly 100 community pitches are among the assets and services that could be transferred. Tree art galleries, two museums and 40


libraries could also be operated by an ALO, with the council currently working on a business plan for the proposal.


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wellbeing, said: “Tis is a bold, ambitious and forward-thinking plan which will bring leisure centres, libraries and some social care services under one roof. With public health responsi- bilities coming back to local authorities, these hubs will help to prevent long-term illnesses such as heart disease.”


Fitness First unveils new Spitalfields club Tom walker


Health club operator Fitness First has unveiled its new £1m club in London’s Spitalfields Tower, located in the heart of the city’s financial district. The club – opened on 3


February – will boast 8,000sq ſt (743.2sq m) of fitness space with equipment supplied by Technogym and a large exer- cise studio for group classes. It will also be one of the


first clubs to house Fitness First’s new freestyle area con- cept, allowing members to use a range of equipment – such as as ViPR, Kettle Bells, TRX Power Bags and Plyometric Platforms – either on their own or with the assistance of a personal trainer. Fitness First London head of operations Michelle Everett said; “At Spitalfields Tower,


Technogym has supplied equipment to Fitness First’s new London club


we will be offering the diversity and innova- tion to help keep members motivated. “Te new club will provide an innovative


place for people from all walks of life to come and workout with like minded people.”


£10m earmarked for new Bath leisure centre peTe hayman


Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) has pledged £10m towards the devel- opment of a new leisure centre in Bath. Te council anticipates the need for new facilities in light of Bath Rugby’s bid to


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


redevelop the Recreation Ground, which will lead to the demolition of the existing centre. Heads of Terms discussions for commercial


arrangements between BANES and the rugby club are at a “well advanced” stage, which has included the council’s funding commitment.


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2011


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