£250,000 for leisure centre

A 250,000 investment is planned to improve fitness facilities at the Utopia Leisure Centre, Uckfield, and Heathfield's leisure centre is next on the list for major improvements.

The fitness suite at the Utopia is to be increased in size by one and a half times and new equipment installed. The space will be created by moving the catering area and providing new changing rooms.

The idea is to bring the Utopia up to the standard and size of fitness facilities at Goldsmiths Leisure Centre, Crowborough, and The Lagoon, Hailsham.

'The work is long overdue,' said Jeff Hart, acting head of leisure services at Wealden Council. He is to head up a new organisation in the form of a charitable trust which will take over the running of leisure centres through the district.

Wealden Leisure Ltd comes into being on April 1. It will operate separately from the council though initially will depend heavily on council grants 1 million in the first year. The main benefit of setting up the trust is a tax advantage which will allow the 250,000 investment in the Utopia immediately.

Mr Hart, who has worked for the council since 1989, said they had been looking at improving fitness facilities over the past few years but it was difficult to find the investment capital.

The trust will change all that. Architects are currently finalising the scheme, building work is likely to start in the early summer and it is due to be completed and re-opened to the public on October 1.

Reinvest

'We will be using taxable savings to reinvest in service and facilities and what we will then be able to do is generate more income out of the savings scheme to make further reinvestment and lower the cost to the council over a five-year period,' said Mr Hart.

The Utopia plan was important strategically but in the future when more money had been generated Mr Hart said they were planning a similar project at Heathfield.

The Heathfield leisure centre is a smaller site on the community college campus. It includes a sports hall and dance studio but, unlike the larger centres, has no swimming pool. 'The fitness facilities there are very small and we want to carry out a feasibility study within the first year of operation to look at the possibility of expanding fitness facilities on that site.'

Many other improvements were planned at all the leisure centres including decoration, equipment and upgrading, said Mr Hart. He hoped to improve catering facilities and access for the disabled.

'This is quite a big move for the council and me and the staff but we are all really excited about it because we can see that we can make this reinvestment in service.'

The trust will have its own offices, currently has an option on 146a High Street, Uckfield, and plans to expand its operation both within and outside the district where contracts come up for renewal or new facilities are required. 'We don't intend to be an organisation that stands still. We expect to be expanding and growing,' said Mr Hart.