New £9m leisure centre opens in Stechford

A new £9 million leisure centre has opened its doors in Stechford, giving east Birmingham a modern pool, gym and sports hall just in time for the new year fitness rush.

Stechford Leisure Centre on Station Road welcomed the public for the first time at 10am on Monday 8 January. It replaces the former Stechford Cascades.

What is inside

The centre has a 25-metre competition pool with spectator seating, and a separate teaching pool for swimming lessons. For families, there is Aqua Challenge, a giant inflatable obstacle course in the water, which runs at weekends and in the school holidays and can be booked for parties.

There is also a 100-station gym with cardio and resistance equipment and a free weights area, a studio for fitness classes seven days a week, and a four-court sports hall for activities including badminton, tennis and football. Children's holiday activities and birthday parties are also on offer.

Jobs for local people

Around 60 people will work at the new centre, in roles ranging from reception and lifeguards to fitness instructors, catering and cleaning. Staff from the old Stechford Cascades are among them, and a number of new apprenticeships are also being created.

Construction took just over a year. The building was built by ISG to designs by Calderpeel Architects, and will be run by Birmingham Community Leisure Trust.

Part of a £40 million programme

Stechford is the second of four new leisure centres to be completed as part of a city-wide investment of nearly £40 million by Birmingham City Council and Sport England. Erdington Leisure Centre opened last summer, and a new centre in Northfield is due to open in the spring. The trust has also refurbished Fox Hollies, Cocks Moors Woods, Beeches and Wyndley leisure centres.

Brian Taylor, who chairs the trust, said: "With the opening of this, the second of our brand new leisure centres for the people of Birmingham, I am once again proud to hand over an excellent, purpose built facility for our community to enjoy."

"I hope you will be inspired to come and make great use of this wonderful new centre and that 2018 will be your healthiest, most active yet."

Grassroots sport

Council leader Ian Ward said the opening showed the council's commitment to sport at a local level, just weeks after Birmingham was named host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

"As the recently named Host City for the Commonwealth Games in 2022, it is vital we continue to support first-class grassroots sporting facilities for Birmingham," he said. "Despite the considerable financial challenge we face, this shows we will continue to support and encourage people to remain active and pursue a healthy lifestyle."

The trust was set up in 2015 to work with the council to revitalise the city's sport and leisure centres and offer value for money. As well as the pool and gym, the centre offers a body composition tool, Boditrax, which helps people track their progress towards a fitter lifestyle with the support of qualified instructors.

For residents of Stechford and the surrounding area, the new building offers facilities that the old Cascades could no longer match, right on their doorstep.