Serco Leisure has announced the opening of a new £8.5m state of the art leisure centre in the Ladywood district of Birmingham. Ladywood Leisure Centre will be operated by Birmingham Community Leisure Trust (BCLT) and its managing agent Serco Leisure on behalf of Birmingham City Council (BCC).
The new facility is the last of four new builds funded by Birmingham City Council (BCC) and Sport England as part the 15-year BCLT contract signed in 2015. Ladywood joins the other new sites, Erdington, Northfield and Stechford Leisure Centres, plus five other facilities currently operated by BCLT around the city.
Simon Bailey, Serco Leisure’s Managing Director said:
“We are incredibly proud to be opening this fantastic state-of-the-art facility, which we are confident will become a hub of activity for the residents of Ladywood and surrounding areas. Our team has worked incredibly hard with our construction partners ISG to make our vision for the centre a reality.
“This new facility has already created over 50 new jobs, and our recruitment team has done great work engaging with the local community, successfully securing positions for long-term unemployed people in the area.
“I would like to thank everyone across Serco, plus the teams at BCC and Sport England, who have contributed to the successful construction and opening of four new centres in Birmingham over the last 2 years, a project which began with the opening of Erdington Leisure Centre back in 2017.”
Ladywood Leisure Centre will boast a 130-station gym, offering a full range of cardio and resistance equipment and giving customers the variety they need to stay motivated and on track to hit their fitness goals. An extensive suite of workout classes will also be on offer, including holistic sessions like Yoga, aqua classes in the pool, plus many favourites from the world-renowned LES MILLS™ range, including BODYPUMP and BODYCOMBAT and a number of other high intensity classes.
For swimmers, there will be a 25-metre, 8-lane competition standard pool, and dedicated teaching pool for lessons. There will also be a Poolpod, which helps people with disabilities get in and out of the pool, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of being in the water. And for parents/guardians who want to watch their children learn to swim, there is a spectator area.
The new centre has a sauna and steam room, and there will also be a caféM. on site, offering healthy snacks, great coffee and a friendly welcome.
The building work for Ladywood Leisure Centre and the three other BCLT new builds was carried out by global construction firm ISG. As with the other BCLT new builds, Ladywood Leisure Centre has been designed to minimise life-cycle costs and support BCC’s push towards more sustainable facilities, demonstrating the Council’s commitment to modernising its leisure infrastructure, while providing outstanding community leisure facilities, and driving increasing levels of participation.