A £500,000 bid to Sport England to help fund the new Westminster Lodge development has progressed to the next stage.
St Albans City and District Council has been invited to submit further information in support of its application to the Government’s Free Swimming Capital Modernisation Programme for grant funding to provide improved swimming facilities and equipment in the new Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre.
The Council has been asked to provide a more detailed plan to Sport England to secure the £500,000 grant which will be used to provide facilities to encourage more residents to get active and take up swimming.
Its bid is one of only 45 nationally that have successfully progressed to stage two, out of 173 applications initially made to Sport England.
Councillor Sheila Burton, Portfolio Holder for Healthy Living at St Albans City and District Council, said: “It’s good news that we have advanced to stage two. The new Westminster Lodge pool has been planned to optimise its use as a community pool that will encourage more and more people into swimming and activity.”
The Council has been able to bid for a slice of the £10m available nationwide because it has been successfully participating in the Government’s free swimming initiatives for under 16s and the over 60s. The Free Swimming Capital Modernisation Scheme promotes creative approaches to improving swimming facilities to encourage more people in these two target groups to take part in physical activity.
The new Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre development will include a regional competition sized 25m pool, a 17m learner pool, a fitness suite with 200 stations (including a cycle spinning studio), two exercise studios, a climbing wall, a four court sports hall, a crèche and soft play area and a dedicated youth facility. It will also offer a full-scale Spa experience and a standalone Café/Bistro.
A planning application for the new leisure centre is due to be submitted to the Council by the end of January 2010 and the new leisure centre is on course to open by the end of 2012.