Bournemouth Council’s proposals to invest £1.2 million into the popular Littledown Centre to create a larger state-of-the-art gym and additional fitness studios, is set to go before the Cabinet on July 23 2014.
The Centre, which is operated on behalf of the Council by the leisure and cultural trust BH Live, will also benefit from a £500,000 investment in the latest gym equipment by the Trust.
If approved work will begin in the Autumn on extending and refurbishing the Council owned centre which recently celebrated its 25th birthday.
Councillor John Beesley, Leader of Bournemouth Borough Council said, “The Council is delighted to be able to improve this extremely popular leisure facility offering greater health and fitness facilities for our residents. Working in partnership with BH Live who operate the centre on our behalf will significantly enhance our local leisure facilities. With the increase in footfall, the ongoing investment ensures it remains fit for purpose and one of the top performing leisure centres in the UK.”
The gym extension would be at the rear of the building and improvements carried out over phases to minimise any disruption to customers and local residents. The centre would also plan to continue offering activities as normal during works.
Peter Gunn, BH Live Chief Executive added, “Littledown is a jewel in the town’s leisure facilities and I’m delighted that the Council has confidence in our ability to manage the centre and invest with us in its future. Since BH Live began managing the centre in 2010, we have made considerable progress in getting more local people more active. As a result Bournemouth has some of the highest levels of participation in physical activity in the UK. These planned improvements will only improve the customer experience even more.”
The investment plans include extending the gym at the rear from 528m2 to 969m2. Plans also include converting offices into a large multipurpose fitness studio which could be partitioned into two activity spaces and creating over 100 additional car parking spaces through improved landscaping and removing excess shrubbery. Works are expected to take around ten months to complete.
