Stechford’s new leisure centre is now open
Is your new year’s resolution to get fit and active? If you live in east Birmingham there’s a great incentive with the opening of the brand new Stechford Leisure Centre on Station Road.
The new Stechford Leisure Centre is a huge asset to the local community, providing state of the art equipment and facilities for a whole range of sports and recreation.
Inside the light and airy modern building there is a 25-metre competition pool with spectator seating as well as a dedicated teaching pool ideal for budding swimmers of all ages to learn with More Swimming Academy. The whole family can have fun in the water tackling Aqua Challenge, the exciting, giant inflatable obstacle course. As well as public sessions at weekends and in school holidays, Aqua Challenge may be reserved for private parties.
A spacious, 100-station gym is equipped with the latest in cardio and resistance kit, plus a free weights area with instructors on hand to help you get the most from your exercise sessions. An extensive workout programme including Bodypump, Bodycombat, studio cycling, as well as yoga and many other fitness classes, will run seven days a week in the studio space. A flexible new 4-court sports hall will be home to activities such as tennis, badminton, football to name but a few. Children’s holiday play activities and birthday parties will also be available.
For those taking health seriously, then a look into Boditrax, the NHS approved body composition tool is a must. You can find out your essential statistics and monitor your progress towards a fitter, more active lifestyle with help from qualified instructors.
Construction has taken just over a year. The £9 million replacement for the former Stechford Cascades is part of a city wide investment of nearly £40million by Birmingham City Council in conjunction with Sport England and is the second of four new complexes to be completed.
Staff from the old facility will be among 60 people to be employed at the new Leisure Centre in a range of roles including reception, lifeguards, fitness instructors, catering and cleaning. A number of new apprentice roles are being created to support the existing workforce.
Birmingham Community Leisure Trust (BCLT), has overseen the project, working in partnership with Birmingham City Council (BCC) and Sport England. BCLT is managing the new centre.
BCLT Chair, Brian Taylor, said: "With the opening of this, the second of our brand new leisure centres for the people of Birmingham, I am once again proud to hand over an excellent, purpose built facility for our community to enjoy. We have a great team based at Stechford Leisure Centre to show you around, answer your questions about activities, classes and membership options. I hope you will be inspired to come and make great use of this wonderful new centre and that 2018 will be your healthiest, most active yet."
Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, added: "I am delighted that our residents in Stechford and the surrounding area now have a brand new leisure centre. As the recently named Host City for the Commonwealth Games in 2022, it is vital we continue to support first-class grassroots sporting facilities for Birmingham and I thank our partners for working with us to provide cost effective and modern buildings such as this. Despite the considerable financial challenge we face, this shows we will continue to support and encourage people to remain active and pursue a healthy lifestyle."
Construction at Northfield in the south of the city is approaching completion and the new Northfield Leisure Centre will open in spring 2018. It will be built and managed by BCLT. The Trust has also delivered a programme of refurbishments to Fox Hollies Leisure Centre; Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre; Beeches Leisure Centre and Wyndley Leisure Centre.
ISG Construction plc has undertaken the construction of the new leisure centres at Erdington, Stechford and Northfield to designs by Calderpeel Architects.
Stechford Leisure Centre is located on Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham B33 8QN. For more information including opening times visit www.birminghamleisure.com and view New Centres.
Background notes
- Established in 2015, Birmingham Community Leisure Trust works in partnership with Birmingham City Council to revitalise the city's sport and leisure centres and offer value for money leisure services. For more information: www.birminghamleisure.com
- Doors opened for the first time to the public at Stechford Leisure Centre at 10am on Monday 8 January 2018.
