Weymouth leisure facility hopes to be 'sleeping giant' for community
Active Dorset got the keys for the Redlands Leisure Facility
The newly named Redlands Leisure and Community Park in Weymouth is a "sleeping giant" for the local community, says Clive Nelson from Active Dorset.
The T’s are crossed, the I’s are dotted and the ink has dried… After two years without a lease holder, Dorset Council has finally handed the keys to the Redlands Leisure facility in Weymouth to Active Dorset.
Dorset Council approached Active Dorset who then looked around the facility, assessed the amount of work that needed to be done and decided to “give it a go.”
Following Weymouth College’s decision to stop using the facility in 2021, Redlands was close to being shut down.
Clive Nelson, the senior manager for Active Dorset, said:
“It looked as if parts of the facility might be closed, if not quite a lot of it because of the difficulty of running sports centres at this time.”
When Dorset Council’s was considering closing the indoor facilities, the public outcry was loud enough for all concerned to take notice. The local community put pressure on Dorset Council to "save the facility."
Mr Nelson added: “There was quite a lot of angst that a major facility in Weymouth was going to go.
“The community made a lot of noise, they committed to using it and working with us and they put pressure on the decision makers.”
Now, Active Dorset are hoping to make it a "sustainable" leisure park by repairing some of the facilities.
Active Dorset now want to work with the community to make the grand open space a sustainable, useable and attractive place for the local people to use.
Cllr Laura Beddow said:
“I’m delighted to see such a valued asset placed in Active Dorset’s safe hands. I feel their plans balance the needs of current users and the local community with the financial realities of operating such a large facility.”
Active Dorset have already hit the ground running by opening a community cafe, putting up new signage and working on the roof in a few buildings.
Martin Kimberley, Chief Executive of Active Dorset, said:
“I’d like to thank the members of the public who fought to keep the centre open, and we are already seeing positive signs of more users which is key to making Redlands thrive.”
The future for Redlands Leisure and Community Park includes a new catering facility and café in the function room, creating an indoor soft play area for children, new lighting and flooring upgrades in the main sports hall, potential development of the current football pitches and the introduction of a dog walking area.