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'Fabulous' new centre brings excitement to town

Josh Sandifordin Bedworth
News imageBBC A smiling woman standing outside in front of metal construction fencing, with bare earth and a park behind her. She is wearing a burgundy quilted jacket over a white top and has her hair tied back. The sun is shining on her face.BBC
Kate Frith said the new centre was "fabulous" for the town

Even though the outside partly resembles a building site, there were dozens of people lined up outside a town's new £30.6m Physical Activity Hub when I arrived on Tuesday morning.

The new centre, in Bedworth, Warwickshire, opened to the public for the first time today, with diggers still rumbling in the background near a long queue of swimmers and gym users.

Workers in high-vis jackets could be seen near fenced-off paths and freshly upturned soil, as people chatted away ahead of the 09:00 GMT opening.

The centre, run by Everyone Active, in partnership with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, is replacing the old Bedworth Leisure Centre.

That site was a staple of the Warwickshire town for decades and people in the queue told the BBC that many of them learned how to swim there, along with forming other childhood memories.

News imageA crowd of people of various ages standing in a queue outside a modern dark-brick building with an "Entrance" sign. Metal construction fencing lines the path to the left, with bare trees and blue sky behind. Many are carrying bags and backpacks, chatting in the sunshine as they wait to go in.
Dozens of people queued up outside the new Bedworth Physical Activity Hub on its opening morning

Paul Blackshaw, 73, said he had watched the new building rise from the ground on his daily walks.

A regular at the old leisure centre, he was among the first in the queue for the gym.

"I walk around here every day because I'm a local lad," he said. "I've seen it go up from nothing to this and they've done really well."

News imageAn older couple standing together outdoors in front of metal construction fencing, with upturned brown soil and a park visible behind them. The woman on the left wears a white padded jacket and glasses, and the man on the right wears a dark jacket and glasses and has white hair and a white beard. Both are smiling.
Maureen and Steve Palmer travelled from nearby Ash Green to be among the first in the pool

The new site has a 25m swimming pool, a learner pool with a movable floor, a 100-station gym, a wellness hub and a cafe.

A sports hall is due to open later this month, with an external sports pitch arriving in September.

Maureen Palmer, 79, and her husband Steve, 80, came from nearby Ash Green to be among the first in the pool.

Asked why she had not had a lie-in, Maureen Palmer responded: "This will never happen again, in my lifetime anyway, so why not be one of the first?"

News imageA large indoor swimming pool with turquoise water and dark lane markings on the tiled floor. Metal handrails lead down steps into the water in the foreground. The pool hall has floor-to-ceiling windows along two walls looking out onto trees and green space, with a worker in hi-vis visible at the far end.
The 25m swimming pool inside the new £30.6m centre

Emerson Graham, 54, who learned to swim at the old centre in 1976, said the investment sent an important message to people living nearby.

"I just think it shows that the town's not forgotten," he said.

While an "excited" Kate Frith, 69, also from Ash Green, had not swum for a couple of years but saw the opening on Facebook and decided it was time.

"When you're starting to get as old as I am I think it's really important that you keep active," she said.

"This is fabulous. It's about time the people of Bedworth have got something positive going on."

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