Olympic medallist to open Melton's refurbished leisure centres

Richard Kilty won a bronze medal in the Stade de France as part of the 4X100m sprint relay squad on Friday evening.

And he will assist Mayor of Melton, Councillor Tim Webster, in cutting ribbons at both the Waterfield Leisure Centre (9am) and Melton Sports Village (MSV) at 10am, on Saturday morning.

The Melton Times was given a tour of the new facilities, which have undergone a £1.73million overhaul, ahead of the public being invited to take part in free taster sessions on Saturday.

At the Waterfield site, on Dalby Road, there are some impressive improvements, with an upgraded and extended fitness studio, an improved group cycling room and enhanced health suite with sauna.

Swimmers are pleased to see that new showers are installed – the previous ones failed to provide hot water for many months – and the unpleasant odour has been removed from the refurbished changing rooms.

In the pool, itself, new covers are now in place which take just 45 seconds to deploy and allow staff to maintain heat in the water and make major cost savings.

The reception is in the process of being majorly increased through knocking through an adjoining room.

Over at MSV, off Burton Road, the main difference users are seeing is the sports hall being reduced by about 40 per cent to enable a soft play area to be created for families.

Some clubs and users have been unhappy about the hall now having capacity for just two badminton and basketball courts but most of the affected clubs have found alternative locations to train and play at.

There is a noise issue with just a retractable screen in place between the soft play and leisure users but options are being considered to close off the space at the top of the screen where noise from children playing is currently escaping through.

Melton Borough Council and contractors, Everyone Active, insist that revenue from the soft play area is essential in enabling the leisure centres to stay financially viable for the next decade.

Elsewhere at the MSV centre, there is now a new space which can be used as a fitness studio or multi-purpose activity and changing facilities have been refurbished. Solar panels and energy-saving LED lighting have been installed to improve energy efficient at the centre.

Reception has also enjoyed a large makeover with bright signage and new fridges and food stores for users to get refreshments from.

Sarah Robb is now employed as activity and wellbeing manager for Waterfield and MSV and her brief is to ultimately encourage more people in the borough to take exercise.

She told the Melton Times: “We have started up walking football session with people with dementia and there is a netball group starting up in September for women going through the menopause.

"We have lots of activities taking place for children with special educational needs as well.

"The soft play area has been open for a few days and we’ve had really good feedback so far – it’s somewhere people can come with their children and spend an hour or 90 minutes with other families.”

Both sites will be open on Saturday from 9am to 1pm and the free taster activities need to be pre-booked.

An inflatables session is planned at the Waterfield pool at noon with places allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

There will also be free soft play sessions at MSV at 9am, 10.30am and noon, while in the brand-new studio, BODYPUMP and BODYSTEP will be held from 9am to 9.45am and 10am to 10.45am, respectively.

Team GB sprinter Richard Kilty will meet and greet members of the public throughout the morning, as well as setting markers in gym challenges at Waterfield for locals to compete against.

Borough council leader, Councillor Pip Allnatt, said: “This is an opportunity for residents to try out the new facilities for themselves and see what is now available at the centres. 

“Our partners at Everyone Active have done an outstanding job upgrading and modernising the leisure centre and facilities for our residents, making sure they are not only enhanced but protected over the next 10 years.

"Multiple new facilities have been developed at Melton Sports Village as part of this refurbishment, including the soft play and the health hub; as well as the redesign of the gym at Waterfield. 

“Throughout the process we have sought to ensure as many activities as possible can continue to thrive in locations across the borough, so we hope there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

"I really would encourage anyone that is keen to start getting active or to spend time with family and friends to come and see what’s on offer in the heart of Melton.” 

Lloyd Barraclough, Everyone Active’s area contract manager, said: “We are so excited to host this open day and believe the huge programme of free activities will prove big attractions for the local community.

“In Richard Kilty, we have an enormously successful athlete who knows the value of physical activity to everyone, no matter what their age, interests, or ability, while his fantastic sporting achievements speak for themselves.

“We cannot wait to welcome local people to the centres to showcase the amazing upgrades that have taken place, providing state-of-the-art facilities that will serve the local community now and for many years to come.”