Ripon’s new swimming pool and partly-refurbished leisure centre, officially opened its doors early this morning.
The reaction of the first swimmers through the door at 6.30 was unanimously positive.
Comments included, ‘superb’ ‘fabulous’ ‘absolutely great’ and ‘It’s really exciting.’
Named in honour of a history-making Olympic diving champion and local hero, who learnt to swim in Ripon’s Spa Baths at the age of 3, the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre is designed to be a facility fit for the 21st century.
Jack Laugher MBE , is on the sign that greets swimmers and gym users when they enter the centre
The pool contains almost half a million litres of water
The centre, along with other swimming and leisure facilities across the district, is being operated on behalf of the council by Brimhams Active.
The people of Ripon have been waiting for this day – the project to build the pool ran nine months behind schedule and cost approximately £5 million more than its original £10.2 million budget.
The Changing Places toilet at the new Ripon pool
The charges for members of the public to use the new pool, have not increased from the entry fees charged at Spa Baths.
A swimming session for an adult costs £5.10 with children aged 3 to 16 paying £2.70 and complimentary entry for children under 3. The adult concession rate also remains at £3.70.
Centre operations manager Ben Cutting, was on duty with his Brimhams Active team to welcome the early-bird swimmers
Containing almost half a million litres of water, the six-lane pool can accommodate 108 swimmers at a time and leading-edge AngelEye technology has been installed as an added safety measure, should anybody get into difficulty during a swim.
Accessibility features are an integral part of the design, from the inclusion of wider doors, steps for entry at the shallow end of the pool and the provision of Changing Places toilets in both the pool and at the leisure centre.
The gym area
The ground floor of the centre remains closed, awaiting the remediation measures required before the whole of the building can be used, but the upper floor is equipped with an array of top-of-the-range health and fitness equipment – from treadmills to cycling machines that can link into digital media.
There is also a sauna room that can be used by swimmers and gym goers and outside, the well-equipped Dallamires Children’s Play area, which opened on Monday, is already proving popular.
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