Contractors appointed to deliver £13m Whitchurch swimming and fitness centre
Shropshire Council has appointed Alliance Leisure to deliver the new £13m swimming and fitness centre in Whitchurch.
The leisure developer has been appointed to the project, working through the UK Leisure Framework. Supporting Alliance will be Pellikaan as lead contractor, architects Roberts Limbrick and Axiom will be responsible for project management.
Funded by Shropshire Council the centre will include a six-lane 25m pool, 41-station fitness suite and café on the ground floor, complemented by multi-function rooms on the first floor, which can be used for classes, clubs, events and more.
In addition to providing vital services to the local community, the state-of-the-art centre will also welcome visitors from surrounding areas, driving economic growth and creating new opportunities for local businesses.
Robert Macey, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for culture and digital, said:
“I am confident that the project team, led by leisure development experts Alliance Leisure, will deliver a first-class leisure centre for Whitchurch. Their combined experience and expertise will ensure we provide residents with the health and wellbeing facilities they want and need, both now and in the future.”
Julia Goddard, senior business development manager, Alliance Leisure, added:
“Working with the council and our supplier partners through the UK Leisure Framework, we will deliver an efficient leisure facility built in response to the specific needs of the community. An active community is a happy, prosperous community and this is exactly the outcome we intend to deliver.”
Work is due to begin before Christmas to demolish the existing building and the site cleared ahead of construction to begin early in in 2024.
It is anticipated the new centre will open in mid-2025 under the management of the Shropshire Community Leisure Trust and Serco who currently operate Shrewsbury Sports Village, The Quarry swimming and fitness centre and Market Drayton and Oswestry Leisure Centres on behalf of Shropshire Council.
The new build will reinstate much needed leisure facilities in Whitchurch which has been without a pool since the swimming pool closed during the pandemic when ongoing maintenance issues deemed it unfit for purpose.
