Date set for £1m Walsall's Gala Baths revamp

The centre will close on Christmas Eve and a partial service - comprising the brine pool, fitness suite and dance and spinning studios - will be provided from January 25.

The Gala Pool will be closed for the duration of the works. Council chiefs say it will re-open after Easter.

A revamp of the outdated town centre building was initially due to be completed by the end of the year but the works programme was changed after talks with contractors to limit the impact on service users.

A new family changing area, re-modelled reception, sauna and a boom to split the pool into main and learner sections are scheduled.

Preparatory works have already taken place, including the removal of asbestos from the 50-year-old building.

The rest of the work will see the main pool drained to allow the installation of a boom to create a 25 metre competition pool and a new warmer teaching pool. A modern unisex changing area and sauna will replace the separate male and female changing rooms.

The baths' main entrance and reception area will also be completely remodelled.

The temporary operation will also run a revised programme with temporary access arrangements.

Chris Holliday, the council's head of leisure and culture, said: "It is good to see this work now getting under way. The refurbishment represents the largest investment on the Gala Baths since it was built in 1961.

"It will see the facilities transformed, making large areas of the centre fit for the 21st century.

"It's unfortunate that it has not been possible to keep all parts of the centre open during the refurbishment but given the scale of the improvements, it just wasn't going to be practical or safe to maintain a complete service from the site during the building works.

"I'd like to thank our customers for bearing with us while the improvements have been ongoing and we look forward to welcoming them to a vastly improved Gala Baths in the near future."

The improvements at Walsall Gala Baths will complement the £24m investment currently being undertaken to build active living centres at Bloxwich and Oak Park. Some £2m is being provided from Sport England's 'Iconic' facilities fund and £300,000 from the Football Foundation.

Mr Holliday said the idea was to improve residents' overall health and well-being.