Work to revamp two leisure centres set to be completed in coming days

More than £2.8m has been invested in refurbishing facilities in Penkridge, Wombourne and Cheslyn Hay.

South Staffordshire Council approved a £2.4m spend on improvements to the district’s four leisure centres, which also include facilities at Codsall High School, in 2019. And a Football Foundation grant has provided £400,000 towards a new all-weather 3G sports pitch at Wombourne Leisure Centre.

In 2021 the district council agreed to bring forward work to refurbish the swimming pool areas at Wombourne and Penkridge after it was found to be cheaper to carry it out sooner than originally planned. Work at Penkridge Leisure Centre, which included redecoration, new flooring and lighting in thev reception area, finished last summer.

The first phase of work at Wombourne Leisure Centre, on the “dry side” and changing areas, was completed just before Christmas. And this month the council’s Wellbeing Select Committee was told that the second phase of the project, focusing on the “wet side” swimming pool promenade and changing rooms, was due to be completed by March 10.

A delay to the Cheslyn Hay Leisure Centre project was reported last month, the meeting heard. A report said: ” This was primarily due to a delay with the delivery of the new front doors that make up part of the remodelled entrance.

“This means that the project will now complete on 10th March. Customers will continue to utilise the temporary entrance in the interim.

“The swimming pool work has now been completed and handed back to the council. Unfortunately the swimming pool heat pumps failed which has meant reopening the swimming pool to the public has been delayed.

“This is outside of the scope of the project but the school placed an order for replacement pumps quickly. Customers will ‘robe and go’, similar to at Wombourne Leisure Centre, whilst the work to the changing areas is completed.”

The swimming pool at Cheslyn Hay reopened on January 31. Councillors were told that measures brought in during the Covid pandemic, when leisure centre visitors were encouraged to shower and change as home rather than using facilities onsite, meant they had become more familiar with the “robe and go” measures in place while changing rooms were being refurbished.