Staffordshire leisure centre to close in October ahead of refurb
Brough Park Leisure Centre will be refurbished and extended with a new 25m pool and a larger gym
Staff at a leisure centre set to undergo a major redevelopment are facing an uncertain future – with the facility due to temporarily close in October.
Brough Park Leisure Centre will be refurbished and extended with a new 25m pool and a larger gym, using funds from Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s £17 million Levelling Up award.
The centre will close on October 1 to allow the redevelopment to get underway – the council has not yet said when it expects the facility will reopen. Parkwood Leisure, which runs Brough Park, says it is ‘managing any impact’ the closure will have on staff, who are currently being consulted.
Workers at SMDC’s two other leisure centres, meanwhile, are set to be transferred to a new council-owned company, Alliance Leisure Limited, which will take over the running of the facilities from Parkwood on October 1.
Councillor Matt Swindlehurst, cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said: “The council is investing £17 million in a major redevelopment of Brough Park Leisure Centre to provide new pools, fitness facilities, indoor adventure and soft play, and a community wellness suite. This inevitably means that the centre will need to be closed whilst the construction work takes place. The centre will close on 1 October this year.”
Glen Hall, managing director of Parkwood Leisure, said: “We are managing any impact the closure of the centre may have on staff. Our first and foremost priority is to our employees and therefore you will appreciate we cannot comment further until employees have been consulted appropriately. We will be doing all we can to support employees going forward, with assistance from the council.”
In June, cabinet members at SMDC discussed a ‘leisure transformation plan including future operating model’, in a behind-closed-doors meeting. Parkwood Leisure’s contract to run Brough Park, along with Biddulph Valley Leisure Centre and South Moorlands Leisure Centre, was due to end in October.
It is understood that staff at Brough Park were invited to a meeting last week, shortly before the council announced the launch of Alliance Leisure Limited.
The company has been formed with SMDC’s strategic partner, High Peak Borough Council, and will run both authorities’ leisure centres. Leaders at SMDC say the new company will allow the council to have more control over the leisure facilities.
Cllr Swindlehurst said: “This is a fantastic opportunity and something we have been working hard on for a while because of the importance we place on the health and wellbeing of residents.
“Setting up this council-controlled company will help us fulfil that commitment by having more direct involvement over the management of all three of our leisure centres, the services they provide and the wider role they play in communities across the Moorlands.
“Together with the significant investment we’re making in our leisure centres, it means we can be sure that we’re providing our communities with the services they deserve and creating more opportunities to be active.”
Cllr Swindlehurst added that, apart from the works at Brough Park, the council is keen ‘to keep wider changes to a minimum’ when the transfer to the new company takes place.
The revamp at Brough Park will see the creation of a six-lane, 25m swimming pool, a new training pool, a 25-person dance studio, a dedicated spin studio, and new changing rooms. There will also be an enlarged gym with space for 25 new pieces of equipment, a new soft play facility and a new reception and café.