Harlow Sportcentre

IT’S ‘GO’ FOR HARLOW’S NEW £25M LEISURE CENTRE WITH CONTRACTOR APPOINTMENT

The Harlow Gateway Partnership, the body behind the £50m regeneration initiative in Harlow, has announced the appointment of the contractor to build the town’s new community sports and leisure centre – Leadbitter Construction.

The development is one of the flagship initiatives within the Gateway project and will provide local people with brand new sports and leisure facilities on a site off Velizy Avenue in the town centre.

Leadbitter Construction, a leading firm with comprehensive experience in the construction of similar projects, will start construction work in September following a brief mobilisation period. Leadbitter Construction will take possession of the site today (13 August), with the top-notch facilities expected to be completed and opened to the public in Autumn 2009.

The contract was let by English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, on behalf of the Harlow Gateway Partnership.

Located adjacent to Harlow College, the three-storey complex will feature an impressive eight lane, 25 metre long swimming pool, and a second, three lane, 20 metre learner pool. It will also host a variety of high standard facilities, including three covered tennis courts, eight badminton courts and a gym – in addition to a sports hall that will double as a venue for big-ticket conferences, concerts and exhibitions. The centre will boast extensive health and fitness facilities, a members’ bar / lounge, nursery and one-stop health shop. It will also be home to ‘Science Alive’, a hands-on science and technology learning centre for children and adults. A 510-space car park and landscaping will complete the development.

Bill Rammell MP, a member of the Gateway Board, said, “This is an important step in renewing our sports and recreation facilities. When I grew up in Harlow, we had some of the best facilities in the region, if not the country. Today we don’t. That’s why the Government invested £11m in the Gateway scheme in the biggest single grant for Harlow in a generation. The Gateway scheme is delivering great new sports and recreation facilities along with much needed affordable homes for sale or rent.”

A Harlow Gateway Partnership spokesperson said: “With the new state-of-the-art athletics track open, and the new community football stadium at Barrows Farm hosting Harlow Town FC’s recent promotion, we are seeing these exciting new facilities starting to make a real difference. The appointment of a contractor to build the new community leisure centre is another major milestone for the Gateway project and takes us closer to our goal of delivering a major and wide-ranging improvement to sports, fitness and leisure facilities in the town.

“The existing leisure facility, which set a new national standard when it opened in 1960, will remain open until the new community sports and leisure centre and its first class facilities are up and running. Then, the old centre will make way for further homes on the Hammarskjöld Road

site, as part of the Gateway project’s contribution to housing development in the town. This includes a significant proportion of affordable homes, providing much needed private and key worker housing for people in Harlow.”

John Lewis, Regional Director for English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, said, “This marks an important stage in the Harlow Gateway project. The regeneration of the town’s leisure facilities will provide real benefits for local people and will bring the town’s sporting offer back into the premier league.”

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) has contributed £2.9m towards the new centre, supplementing the contributions from partners in the Gateway Project – the Department for Communities and Local Government, Harlow and District Sports Trust, English Partnerships, and Harlow District Council.

Women's Sport for FUN

Want to get back into team sport but without the commitment and competition of being in a club? Want to learn new skills and meet new friends? Our Women's Sport for FUN sessions are proving really popular, so why not come along and give it a try?

There is the opportunity to relax and chat about the session afterwards with the coach and your new found friends.

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Weight Management

Make a healthier, slimmer and more vitalised you, a reality in 2008 by booking on to our weight management course!

Our 8 week course at Harlow Sportcentre is designed to be an education in diet and exercise to allow you to change your habits and the way you feel - long term. The package includes use of our Wellness Works gym within the organised session times.

So far, we've had excellent feedback! After attending the course, James said "I lost half a stone during the 8 week course and have continued the good work and lost another half a stone since. Not only that, but it has improved my quality of life by helping to control the symptoms of my diabetes. I'd recommend it to anyone."

For more detailed information, follow the link below, or our Customer Services team on Tel: 01279 307300

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Gateway Project Progress

Work has started on the housing development next to our current site, but we are still fully operational and open to all.

Plans for the new centre are coming towards their final stage and the finer details are being set in place.

To see floorplans and artisist impressions of the new site, please click the link below:

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