Flagship leisure centre re-opens after £1.4m facelift
Worsley Leisure Centre in Salford has re-opened its doors after a £1.4m facelift.
Operated by Salford Community Leisure on behalf of Salford City Council, the project has been funded through Salford City Council as part of its £35m masterplan to develop leisure centres across the city to boost health and wellbeing.
Worsley Leisure Centre first opened as a public swimming baths 80 years ago and has since hosted in excess of 12 million visits from people across Salford, Greater Manchester and beyond.
The centre now includes an iconic 317 sq m gym added to the existing building constructed in copper to mirror the older red brick part of the building and to complement the red brick of the older local houses in the area.
The first floor addition houses a new gym, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, a dedicated weights area, a HIIT zone and a modular rig for functional and small group training.
A second, larger, multi-purpose studio has replaced the lower ground floor gym to offer more space for exercise classes.
A new group fitness class timetable includes new classes and increased capacity following the redevelopment.
The extra studio space will also enable more children’s dance and gymnastics classes, as well as a range of sessions aimed at helping elderly members get more active.
Existing facilities at Worsley Leisure Centre include a six-lane, 25m swimming pool, as well as two smaller teaching pools, a sauna and steam room and a café.
Plans were proposed and developed by internationally-renowned leisure architects, Pozzoni, with Wates as the construction partner, and the work commenced in April 2018.
Mark Chew, director of leisure at Salford Community Leisure, said: “The centre has been the hub of the local community since opening in 1937 and has now been transformed as part of Salford City Council £35m masterplan to develop leisure centres across the city to boost local people’s health and wellbeing.
“This development means we can continue to help more people get, and stay, active. The new facilities are wonderful news for the community and we’re excited to welcome back loyal members and attract new centre users as well.”
Equipment has been provided by independent North West sports equipment company Gym Gear who selected equipment to improve the gym experience.
The new Gym Gear 98e Performance Series cardio, with the latest fitness technology, was chosen.
Members can now enjoy virtual programmes and fitness apps alongside audio-visual functionality, including digital TV, immersive workout landscapes and internet browsing.
The consoles seamlessly connect with CircleCloudGo – Gym Gear’s cloud solution that enables users to create and track workouts as well as connect to their existing, favourite workout tracking devices.
