Keep fit is on the move from centre

Rutland park is new home

Keep-fit facilities are set to move as steps toward the final closure of the Albion Leisure Centre begin.

A new gym for people with special needs and a resurfaced tennis court at the Rutland Sports Park on West End Drive will be available from next month, to accommodate the former users of the East Street centre.

Forty seven of the 54 activities from the Albion have been relocated to other facilities, with a decision due on four more. Just three haven't been relocated.

But the move to keep the activities local has done little to ease the concerns of the majority of users who called for the building to be turned into a community building instead of its closure.

Erewash Borough Council decided to close the Albion Leisure Centre because there were marked year-on-year rises in costs and relatively low overall usage, despite high customer satisfaction levels and use by a wide range of groups and sports clubs.

The centre premises also needed significant capital investment of up to £600,000 in the short term to meet the council's legal duty under the Disability Discrimination Act and to undertake mechanical, electrical and structural improvements to the building, and three separate strategic assessments of the demand for sports halls in the borough
indicated that there was overprovision of such facilities.

Cllr Mike Wallis, Lead Member for Culture and Leisure Services, said: "The decision to close the Albion Leisure Centre was one of the most difficult decisions taken by the council but in the circumstances it was one that had to be made.

"I have worked hard with officers to keep to a minimum the impact of the closure and so I am really delighted that so many activities have been relocated, in many cases, into better accommodation than they enjoyed at the Albion Leisure Centre."