WORK to revamp a Leicester City Council leisure Centre will begin later this month, with £800,000 of improvements on the way.
The improvements will see Cossington Street Sports Centre, in Belgrave, transformed with a new 50-station gym, fully equipped functional training area, and new group exercise space. The changing rooms will also be refurbished.
Work is due to get underway from 20 February and will take around six months to complete. During this time, the gym and indoor fitness area will be closed to the public. The centre’s swimming pool, sauna and outdoor ball court will remain open as normal.
People with an Active Leicester membership will be able to use gyms at any of the city council’s six other leisure centres.
The revamp of Cossington Street Sports Centre is part of a £2milllion city council programme of investment which will also see major improvements made to Aylestone and Evington leisure centres later this year. This will create more space for health and fitness activities – such as dance and spin classes – and a major upgrade to gym equipment.
Deputy city mayor Cllr Piara Singh Clair, who leads on culture, leisure and sport, said: “Our leisure centres are hugely valued by local people and play a very important role in health promotion across the city.
"Reflecting that, we are making this major investment in new facilities to help encourage more people to get fit and active and help improve the health and wellbeing of our local communities.
“We are confident that this will bring in more customers and help ensure our leisure centres continue to thrive.”
The £2million leisure centre investment programme was announced in early 2018 and followed a public consultation on the future of sports and leisure services in Leicester. In total 470 people took part in the consultation, with 76% saying the council should continue to invest in health and fitness facilities.”
The revamp of Cossington Street Sports Centre also follows a £200,000 refurbishment of the pool completed in early 2018. This was supported with National Lottery funding from Sport England as part of its national swimming initiative.
Cossington Street pool opened in the late-1800s and still retains much of its Victorian character. It was a training pool for Jennie Fletcher, a six-time English swimming champion who went on to win an Olympic gold at the 1912 games in Stockholm. A plaque in her honour is on display at the pool.
For more information, visit www.leicester.gov.uk/activeleicester