Council's £430,000 backing for swimming pool scheme

Tadley area to benefit from refurbishment of building and impressive new fitness suite

THE proposed extension to Tadley Swimming Pool, to create a new gym, will receive funding and support from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

The borough council has agreed to earmark £430,000 of capital funding for the work to extend and refurbish the building, plus the addition of a new fitness suite.

The new gym is set to open in 2018, subject to planning permission being approved, and will cater for 1,200 new members.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet member for communities and community safety, Simon Bound, said: “There’s a large demand from fitness enthusiasts in the Tadley area and they will benefit enormously from having this cutting-edge gym at the pool site.

“This is one of the benefits of the good deal that the council has negotiated to extend the contract to run its sports facilities.

“It shows our commitment to work in partnership to improve leisure opportunities across the borough.”

This funding will unlock an investment from Serco and the Basingstoke and Deane Community Leisure Trust, which manages the pool on behalf of the council.

The borough council has extended its contract with the trust and Serco to manage the pool, as well as the Aquadrome and golf centre in Basingstoke.

Under this deal, the trust and company will invest more than £1.3m in capital funds into new features at all three sites over the next few months, along with an investment of £1.75m to upgrade the existing facilities over the term of the contract.

The council, as part of its ongoing commitment to the maintenance of the facilities, will invest £1.6m.

The chairwoman of Basingstoke and Deane Community Leisure Trust, Hazel Tilbury, said: “The trust is committed to providing a good range of health and fitness activities that are accessible to everyone, so that they can enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle.

“The investment by the trust and Serco will not only benefit this generation, but also generations to come.”

The proposed planning application is for a single-storey extension to the existing swimming-pool building, which will potentially provide numerous facilities, including boxing, training areas, weights and strength resistance zones.

A decision on the plans will be reached later this month.