West Suffolk Council £2.15m investment into Bury St Edmunds leisure centre revamp secured as authority keen to deliver 'as soon as possible'

The investment of £2.15 million into a town's leisure centre revamp plans has been secured as an authority is keen to deliver 'as soon as possible'.

A full meeting of West Suffolk Council last night saw members discuss the results of a public consultation into the proposed plans to refurbish the Bury St Edmunds leisure centre, in Beetons Way.

It followed a £2.15 million extra investment, on top of the initial £6.2 million budget, agreed in July but contingent on another round of consultation being carried out.

Cllr Ian Shipp, the authority's lead for leisure, said now that residents had their say, the authority was keen to make improvements happen as soon as possible.

He added: “The proposed enhancements to the leisure centre are designed to improve the facilities and services offered, making them better matched to the needs of the community.”

The works the council will be carrying out are meant to ensure the building's use for at least another 10 years, with their completion date set for early 2026.

These include revamping the wetside changing room, refurbishing the pool hall, creating a splash pad with water play features, building a new cafe and a health and wellbeing centre.

All of these were given support by the more than 1,000 people who responded, with 71 per cent saying they were more likely to use the leisure centre more often as a result.

Addressing concerns over the disruption caused by the works, Cllr Shipp said details would be worked alongside Abbeycroft Leisure, who run the facility, to make sure they could be mitigated as much as possible.

On the Conservative side of the council chamber, members made clear they were still disappointed about the shelving of the Western Way Development, which would have included a new leisure centre altogether, in September last year.

Cllr Beccy Hopfesperger, the Conservative group's leader, said she would not be voting against it as committing money to leisure services was still welcome but stressed the council had missed a chance to be more ambitious.

She said: "We could’ve provided a facility that was future-proof for our population growth and provided ambitious facilities for future generations rather than the short-term.

"I cannot possibly vote against a proposal which commits to large amounts of money being moved into Bury St Edmunds leisure services however short term it is."

The consultation was accepted and the investment unlocked unanimously.