Grand Opening of £21 Million Bletchley Leisure Centre

8.55.00pm GMT Sun 17th Jan 2010

The £21M Bletchley Leisure Centre

The New Year was marked in style with yet another Milton Keynes milestone - the grand opening of the ultra-modern £21 million, 21st century Bletchley Leisure Centre.

The stunning new complex, which has taken just under two years to complete from the first turf being cut, was officially opened on Saturday, 9 January, as part of a sporting extravaganza. The Mayor of Milton Keynes, Councillor Euan Henderson, performed the official 'tape-cutting' ceremony.

There was a whole host of displays and activities throughout the day to showcase what the new look Leisure Centre has to offer, including bowls, karate, squash, badminton, a football coaching session with the MK Dons, and much more.

The new Leisure Centre has a 25 metre disability-friendly pool, sauna, steam room, spectator viewing area, sports hall, gymnastics hall, 100 station fitness studio, aerobic room, spinning studio, 4 squash courts with viewing facilities, indoor bowls, multi-purpose room, and a café. To integrate the new development effectively into the town, the main road serving the site has been completely remodelled to create a more pleasant environment and improve pedestrian links.

With a budget of £21 million (including S106 contributions, MK Tariff funding and government funding, plus match funding from various sporting bodies, including Sport England), the redevelopment of Bletchley Leisure Centre is a major contribution to the regeneration of Bletchley.

The new building is part of a Master Plan led by Milton Keynes Council with support from the Homes and Communities Agency and the Department for Communities and Local Government to deliver a new improved leisure facility alongside 300 new homes and a multi-storey car park.

Liberal Democrat councillor Vanessa McPake, Milton Keynes Council's cabinet member responsible for sport and leisure, said: "This is a fantastic moment for all involved, and a very special one for Bletchley, and Milton Keynes. We have a facility to be truly proud of here, which will benefit people from far and wide for many years to come."