MORE than 6,000 visitors made a splash in Worcester’s new £10.5million swimming pool during its opening weekend of business.
Council and leisure chiefs have hailed the impact of the city’s new venue at the revamped Perdiswell Leisure Centre which was open for 26 hours over the weekend.
The revamped centre boasts a new eight-lane 25-metre competition standard pool designed to attract everyone from casual swimmers to Olympic and Paralympic champions.
Local swimming hero Rebecca Redfern – who scooped the Silver in the women’s SB13 100m breaststroke at the Rio Paralympics – will officially open the pool with Mayor of Worcester, Coun Paul Denham on Tuesday, January 24.
A host of city residents signed up for swimming lessons as Worcester’s new swimming pool opened its doors to the public.
Leisure staff signed up 70 city residents for lessons on the opening weekend while a staggering 4,000 of the 6,000 visitors took part in the various £1 taster sessions on offer, either in the main pool, the teaching pool or the new gym.
At times the two pools were so busy that they came close to their maximum capacity of 136 swimmers in the main pool and 82 in the teaching pool.
A total of 738 people signed up for memberships over the weekend with the pool operator Freedom Leisure
The main eight-lane main pool at Perdiswell Leisure Centre measures 25 metres by 17 metres and boasts poolside seating for 284 spectators with a further 118 seats around the poolside for swimmers.
Sport England’s Strategic Facilities Fund has invested £2 million of National Lottery funding in the leisure centre.
The funding recognises the importance of the new pool in developing Worcester as a vibrant sporting city.
Additional funding for the scheme is being provided by the Heart of Worcestershire College, meaning the facility will house new dedicated classrooms.
The new pool has been built by Worcestershire-based developer Speller Metcalfe and will be operated by Freedom Leisure, which has been awarded a 10-year contract to manage all the Council’s sport and leisure centres.
Council leader, Coun Adrian Gregson, said: “It’s been thrilling to see how popular the revamped Perdiswell Leisure Centre, and especially the new pool, has been with Worcester residents. “Thousands of people tried out the main pool, the teaching pool with its amazing movable floor and the fantastic range of new gym equipment during the opening weekend.
“I’m delighted to know that several disabled people who had never been in a pool before had their first swim at Perdiswell over the weekend,” he added.
Council chiefs have also stressed the new venue is open to both members and non members.
