New £14m fitness centre officially opens

A £14m fitness centre in Shropshire officially opened to the public on Tuesday.

Work on the Whitchurch Swimming and Fitness Centre began 12 months ago, five years after the previous centre shut because of structural issues.

The new centre includes facilities like a six-lane 25m pool, accessible changing rooms, and a 41-station fitness suite.

"This really is a fantastic new centre with excellent facilities, and unsurprisingly we've been inundated with membership and children's swimming lesson requests," said Peter Gilbertson, Shropshire Council's project manager responsible for the build.

The authority said the colours used inside the centre were chosen specifically to reflect the local countryside, but also to make it easier for partially sighted people to distinguish the different areas.

The swimming pool has a moveable floor, and there is a pool pod for wheelchair access, as well as easy access steps, the council added.

The centre created 25 new jobs, and will see students from five local primary schools attend swimming lessons there.

The council's health and wellbeing strategy includes healthy weight and physical activity as one of its key areas for focus.

According to the strategy, 64.6% of adults in Shropshire are classed as overweight or obese.

The centre is managed by the Shropshire Community Leisure Trust and Serco, which also operate several other leisure centres on behalf of the authority.

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