The date for the grand opening of the Warsop Health Hub has been confirmed for 1 June 2024.
The hub, off Carr Lane, has been in the making since 2019 and will significantly expand the parish’s leisure, wellbeing, and community provisions.
The facility will be home to a new 15 x 8-metre swimming pool and splash play area, a changing village, a gym, a multi-purpose hall, a café, and a community space area. Also, the multi-use games area works are nearing completion, offering a brand-new tarmacked space to play sports outdoors, just behind the hub building.
Councillor Andy Burgin, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Leisure, said: “I am thrilled we are now able to share an opening date with the public of 1 June 2024, ahead of schedule.
“To see the tiles for the pool being laid, the rooms taking shape, and the multi-use hall all starting to look like the facilities we had envisaged is a dream come true.
“I am so proud of the work our contractors and officers have put into this development, and I just cannot wait to see the public’s reaction when we open those doors in less than four months’ time!”
As well as the confirmed opening date, centre operators More Leisure Community Trust (MCLT) and Serco Leisure have begun advertising for roles at the centre, including lifeguards, swimming teachers, and duty managers. View the roles online here.
To ensure the hub is a central part of the community, for the community, Serco has been working with Meden School’s pupils to offer them the chance of free lifeguard training in the hope that they will get a job at the local hub.
Brian Taylor, Chair of MLCT said: “This is a very exciting time for our team in Mansfield, as we look to bring a new centre into the MCLT family. We cannot wait to get started, supporting the people of this community with their health and wellbeing needs.”
The delivery of the council’s £9.2 million health hub was made possible thanks to key funding agreements secured by the authority from various partners and agencies. This includes up to £5 million from the council, a £1.8 million capital grant from Sport England, a £3 million allocation from the Government’s Towns Fund, and £103,967 from the DLUHC to create a dedicated changing place within the building.
To ensure the long-term sustainability of the new centre, solar panels have been installed along with new detention basin, as part of Severn Trent’s sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) programme.
The water company has partnered with the council to divert the existing car park out of its combined sewer network and into the sustainable drainage meaning all future rainfall will be recycled and used again within the SuDs system.
The project came about through local residents stepping forward, completing surveys, and discussing their and the parish’s needs in 2019 - a study which Sport England jointly funded with the council to review the leisure and community provision. The outcome was a list of suggestions and ideas that would lead to the right mix of activities, services, and facilities to meet the community’s needs.
A consortium of partners have since taken this forward, working together to support and enable healthier lifestyles for the residents of Warsop. The partnership consists of Mansfield District Council (MDC), Active Notts, Strategic Leisure Limited, Vibrant Warsop CIC and More Leisure Trust.