More than £800,000 worth of investment has resulted in a range of new facilities opening at Better, St Austell Leisure Centre – including a much larger gym, fitted out with 60 workout stations plus functional training, a spacious fitness studio with sprung floor, mirrored wall and feature lighting and male and female dryside changing rooms.
The latest developments follow improvements to the wet disabled changing area, the main reception and the café. Lighting and floors have been upgraded and new boilers and insulating pool covers have also been installed to achieve greater energy efficiency.
Charitable leisure social enterprise provider GLL is the company behind the makeover, having taken on a 25-year contract on 1 April last year to run the county’s network of leisure centres and sports amenities.
Councillor Mike Eathorne-Gibbons, Cornwall Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customers, was one of the first people to see the new gym and studio in action. He visited on the day the facilities opened and was given a tour by senior staff.
“I’m really impressed with GLL’s investment and the work they’ve done to date,” he said. “Excellent use has been made of the room available and there’s a much more modern feel to the whole building. It was a real pleasure to be shown around.”
Councillor James Mustoe, who represents Mevagissey, visits the leisure centre every morning to swim a mile as part of a fitness campaign that has already seen him lose more than five stone.
“As a regular user at Polkyth, I was keen to visit as soon as possible so I could see the new gym,” he said. “GLL staff met me and showed me around and I’m delighted with the transformation. Hats off to GLL – it’s a great refurbishment which will, I hope, keep Polkyth at the cutting edge of community fitness for years to come.”
General Manager Amelia Kitchen says she and her team are thrilled with the centre’s new look and feel.
“It’s amazing and the extra space is already making a big difference,” she said. “Giving local people the opportunity to keep fit and healthy in a fun, positive way is at the core of everything we do and I’d like to invite anyone who hasn’t seen the new facilities to come in and have a look for themselves.
“We’ve done a lot in 12 months and I’m very happy with the major step forward this opening represents.”
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