Exmouth Leisure Centre gets Sport England cash boost

Exmouth Leisure Centre is set for a major transformation thanks to £300,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Improvement Fund.

The facility is one of 19 projects across England to share in £6.5 million of National Lottery investment from the latest round of funding, which is helping clubs refurbish their facilities.

The swimming changing facilities will be completely refurbished with all new fittings and finishes to meet the needs of current and new customers. The layout will include dedicated schools and small group changing areas, extended family change and excellent disabled facilities, all opening directly onto the pool-side. There will also some great new interactive equipment in and around the learner pool to add extra fun for young families.

This is the second phase of redevelopments at the centre following improvements to the gym, studios, and sports hall and the introduction of a fantastic new indoor climbing area and toning studios in 2015 at a cost of £2 million.

The overall cost of this phase will be £800,000, with the balance of funds split between LED Leisure Management and East Devon District Council (£245,000 each), and also fundraising efforts in conjunction with Exmouth Swimming & Lifesaving Society aimed at adding £10,000 towards the costs of a pool hoist to ensure that the pool is accessible by all abilities.

Peter Gilpin, CEO of LED said: “As the Charitable Trust responsible for managing the Exmouth Leisure Centre, we are delighted to have been able to bring together a funding package to deliver these long awaited improvements. The Sport England improvement funding will help us to completely redesign the facilities and should help us increase swimming visits by 20% to 190,000 per year. In particular we hope to attract many more swimmers looking to benefit from swimming, and to better accommodate family focused and schools customers with more versatile individual and family cubicles and small group changing options.”

Councillor Andrew Moulding, Deputy Leader of East Devon District Council , who is also a member of the Exmouth Regeneration Committee, said: “As the facility owner, East Devon District Council is delighted that the aspirations of local swimmers and residents will be realised with this wonderful new development for Exmouth. The scale of the project reflects the value of partnership working with LED Leisure Management to fund improvements to our leisure facilities. We also value the contributions of local customers and clubs in supporting and informing the designs.”

The work will commence in early September and will take approximately four to five months to complete. The swimming pools will remain open throughout, with temporary arrangements for changing in place.

Sport England Property Director, Charles Johnston, said: “Sports facilities are a vital part of community sport and we know people have a better experience of sport when they can play in good quality facilities. Thanks to National Lottery funding we can continue to invest in sports facilities across the country, so that everyone can enjoy a first rate experience of being fit and active.”

Sport England’s Improvement Fund, has invested over £49 million to date in 150 community-based projects across the country. From upgrading artificial grass pitches and swimming pool facilities to helping sports clubs become more environmentally sustainable, this funding has played a crucial role in improving the standards of community sport and incentivising more people to become active.