Olympic bronze medallist Richard Kilty attended the official reopening of Waterfield Leisure Centre and Melton Sports Village on Saturday, August 17, following the £1.7million refurbishment of both centres.
The sites, run by leading operator Everyone Active in partnership with Melton Borough Council, hosted an open day to showcase a huge variety of new and upgraded facilities to the local community.
Richard, a member of the Team GB 4x100m relay line-up at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, joined the mayor, Councillor Tim Webster, for the formal ribbon-cuttings.
Richard engaged with people of all ages at both sites, signing autographs and having pictures taken, with the public enjoying the chance to see his Olympic bronze medal first-hand.
The former 60m world indoor champion also gave his seal of approval to the new, state-of-the-art fitness suite at Waterfield Leisure Centre.
All activities were free at both centres between 9am-1pm, including use of the gym and swimming pool at Waterfield Leisure Centre, which featured an inflatable session. An Olympic Torch from the London Olympics in 1948 was also on site for one day only, for visitors to view and take pictures with.
Children enjoyed soft play sessions at Melton Sports Village, while in the brand-new studio, Les Mills master instructor Paulina Skladanowska led group exercise classes in BODYPUMP and BODYSTEP, alongside site instructors.
Lloyd Barraclough, Everyone Active’s area contract manager, said: “This was the perfect way to celebrate the reopening of these two centres, which will serve the local community for years to come.
“It was great to see the public experience a wide range of activities and really get a sense of how much there is on offer for everyone.
“We’d like to thank Richard for doing a brilliant job of inspiring people of all ages, and we hope to see lots of new and returning visitors to our state-of-the-art facilities soon.”
Cllr Pip Allnatt, Leader of the Council, said: “It was great to meet so many residents and visitors enjoying the new facilities. It was also a great pleasure to meet Richard Kilty who came to support us with the open day and inspired all those who came along. Thank you.
“Eighteen months ago, the future of both facilities was in doubt, but determination and hard work to ensure these facilities remain accessible to our residents has paid off and not only have we managed to retain and protect both sites, we have also invested £1.75million to improve them for our users leading to a refreshed offer for residents. This would not have been possible without our partners at Everyone Active and also local community groups and organisations, including the schools who have supported us during this time in offering alternative sports venues for some of the clubs and groups across the borough.
“Providing good quality leisure facilities for our residents is important to us and it will continue to remain a priority. The leisure facility programme doesn’t stop with these refurbishments, we have a 10-year programme for our sites and we are looking at plans for the future and the next generation of state of the art sport and leisure facilities as part of our Corporate Strategy.”
The extensive refurbishment included extending and enhancing the gym and group cycling studio at Waterfield Leisure Centre and installing brand new equipment throughout; installing a brand-new soft play, developing a new group fitness studio and creating a health hub at Melton Sports Village; and revamping the changing areas and reception suites across both sites.
Alongside this, multiple improvements have been made to the sites to boost energy efficiency, such as investing in new pool covers, with the installation of solar panels to come.
Full details of the refurbishments are available at: https://www.melton.gov.uk/leisure-health-and-community/leisure-and-wellbeing/refurbishment-of-leisure-centres