A MAJOR upgrade will see two Leisure Centres in Tower Hamlets getting a revamp – a far cry from the bad old days when the community struggled to stop Labour mayor John Biggs from closing them down.
•St George’s Leisure Centre Planning permission to revamp the centre was agreed in October last year, and this week Mayor Lutfur Rahman went down to the Centre to see how works were going. Unfortunately, this major project will take time. Local residents can expect to see the centre demolished later this year, with the new centre opening in 2028.
The new centre will have swimming pools and badminton facilities to cater for the many badminton afficionados in the area. In line with modern practice, the new fitness suite will including a women-only space.
•Whitechapel Sports Centre Just when you’re trying to upgrade one sports centre, like buses, up pops a second one. The news this week is that next week’s Cabinet will be discussing plans to upgrade Whitechapel Sports Centre. This Centre enjoys high levels of usage, and needs to be improved to meet demand. As with St George’s Centre, the upgraded gym will have women-only areas.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman welcomed the plans for the new Centre to have, for the first time, its own swimming pool. “Swimming is a vital life skill,” he said, “and we want all children in our borough to be able to learn to swim, without facing financial barriers.” With so much of the borough near water – in the Thames and the river Lea, the docks and several canals – ensuring that as many residents as possible are competent swimmers could be life-saving.
Getting extra value The developments will find space for a modest amount of new housing. The scheme at St George’s will include 30 new homes, three of which will be fully accessible, and the Whitechapel site will include homes too. The centres will also help residents keep fit and healthy – a lifestyle change which should contribute to decreasing the number of serious conditions from which residents suffer, such as heart disease and diabetes.
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