Approval for the new £33.9 million Leighton Buzzard Leisure Centre gets the go-ahead
Thursday, 28 March 2024
Plans for a modern leisure centre in Leighton Buzzard have been given the go-ahead.
New leisure facilities have been given the go-ahead by Central Bedfordshire Council and work is underway to review the plans, with the appointed construction partner, Willmott Dixon, with a view to commencing work later in the year.
This will be the third new leisure centre to be commissioned within five years, ensuring access to leisure and sporting facilities are well provided across Central Bedfordshire.
The new state-of-the-art leisure centre will boast three swimming pools, an eight-lane 25-metre community swimming pool complete with 130 spectator seats, a learner pool with a movable floor to raise or lower the depth for swimming lessons and classes, and a separate shallow pool for very young children. There will also be a substantial fitness suite including a dedicated spinning bikes studio as well as multi-use exercise studios with spaces for a variety of classes, and 2 additional squash courts.
To complement the sports facilities, the new community and leisure centre will have a spacious foyer and reception area, with a large café open for centre users and the public, community spaces, a creche and Changing Places facilities for disabled visitors.
There will be a large 227 space car park, covered cycle racks for 38 bikes, motorbike parking and 17 accessible spaces which will also include 22 active electric vehicle charging points.
Councillor Rebecca Hares, our Executive Member for Health and Community Liaison said:
This is a key milestone for a major project which will see a new modern and fit-for-purpose facility for the town's growing population.
At a time when councils across the UK are struggling, we’re proud to have been able to maintain our commitment to capital investment in major works like this. It’s going to be a fantastic facility for the whole Leighton Buzzard community and beyond and is just the latest of our recent investment in top quality leisure provision.
Such facilities are vital in supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities.