Windrush Leisure Centre gets nautical flavour (From Witney Gazette)

Windrush Leisure Centre gets nautical flavour

3:09pm Monday 27th February 2006 in Witney By Maddy Biddulph

THE £1.2m improvements to the new-look, nautical-themed Windrush Leisure Centre, Witney, are looking 'shipshape'.

The revamp and 445 sq m extension of the popular Witan Way complex began six months ago, and builders hope to put down their hammers by the summer.

The project is coming to fruition eight years after plans were first announced, as part of a £10m investment by West Oxfordshire District Council in leisure facilities.

The centre, which is owned by the council and managed by Wycombe Leisure, has remained open throughout construction.

Tony Walker, the council's executive member for cultural services, said contractors were making good progress, with the new roof already in place.

He said: "We are on schedule for completion during the summer.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the much-needed improvements, which will provide a better service for users."

Tony Walker

"I'm looking forward to seeing the much-needed improvements, which will provide a better service for users."

The centre has been given a nautical flavour, with porthole windows, wooden cladding, and a sail cloth, which will be used to form a canopy over the entrance.

The existing reception and an area of car park is being turned into new changing rooms and modern reception area, which should make the swimming pool more accessible.

And disabled people, pensioners, and parents with buggies should reap the rewards of a new lift to the first-floor cafe and viewing areas. The new facilities will add to the centre's swimming pool, The Mill gym, squash courts, sports hall, and caf.

A lay-by for coaches and buses to drop off and pick up schoolchildren and other centre users has already been built off Witan Way.

Traffic-calming measures, new parking bays, and resurfacing will complete the final phase of improvements to the car park.

In a bid to protect pedestrians, there will be a car-free zone by the reception.

The building first opened in 1975, with just a swimming pool, but over the past 30 years, it has grown in size to meet the needs of West Oxfordshire residents.

The last major investment at the site was in 1996 an extension for a glass-backed squash court and The Mill gym.

For more information about the district council's leisure facilities, visit www.westoxon.gov.uk/leisure