Trafford Council launches public consultation on refurbishment plans for Altrincham Leisure Centre

Trafford residents are being asked for their views on multi-million-pound plans to transform Altrincham Leisure Centre.

Trafford Council’s consultation, to find out what local people think of the proposed refurbishment plans for Altrincham Leisure Centre, is now open and can be viewed and completed online HERE

With a display that will soon be available to view at the following locations:

• Altrincham Leisure Centre
• Altrincham Library

The public can also give feedback on the refurbishment by emailing: alcd@trafford.gov.uk

Additionally, informative online sessions will be hosted for the public which will include a short presentation about the proposals for Altrincham Leisure Centre followed by a discussion on the plans.

Session 1 Online – 19 January 2022 at 11:00 to 12:00

Session 2 Online 20 January 2022 at 18:00 to 19:00

Session 3 Online – 24 January 2022 at 18:00 to 19:00

To book one of the sessions, please email alcd@trafford.gov.uk stating which session you would like to attend.

The consultation will allow residents to have their say on the detailed refurbishment plans for Altrincham Leisure Centre.

The planned mix of facilities at Altrincham Leisure Centre has been developed with support from Sport England to deliver long-term sustainable leisure provision which gives the best health and wellbeing outcomes for residents. The proposed design includes a 25m pool and 20m leisure pool, a 100-station fitness suite (twice the size of the existing gym), two studios and an immersive indoor cycle studio, a four-court sports hall, a purpose-built gymnastic and trampoline hub, a combined lobby and pool viewing café, changing facilities, a spa facility and a wellness assessment room.

The draft designs also include the replacement of the fossil fuel (gas) heating system with Air Sourced Heat Pumps and Solar Panels, which are significantly more sustainable options than the existing systems, and support Trafford Council’s carbon neutral action plan.

The investment supports the Council’s strategy and commitment to get more people moving more often, helping improve health and wellbeing and is part of its Physical Activity Strategy, ‘Trafford Moving’.  It forms part of a borough-wide long-term strategy to support the health and wellbeing of local residents through access to affordable, sustainable, accessible and exciting, modern leisure facilities. The large-scale refurbishments will be carried out on a phased arrangement with Altrincham Leisure Centre earmarked as the first to be refurbished followed by both Stretford and Sale.

Jo Cherrett is CEO of Trafford Leisure, a community interest company, wholly owned by Trafford Council, which manages the facilities on behalf of Trafford Council and uses any profits and assets for community benefit. She said: “Feedback from previous consultations on the future of Altrincham Leisure Centre will be incorporated into our findings.  We value your opinions and we really urge the community to once again share their voice on the council’s proposals, as this will help us to move to the next stage swiftly and effectively.

“We have learnt a lot from the recent and successful redevelopment of move Urmston and are looking forward to supporting Trafford Council in making ‘move Altrincham’, a reality.  We are particularly interested to hear from people who don’t currently use the leisure centre at the moment on what would encourage them to join, as well as from current members.”

Cllr Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, says: “We are committed to the health and wellbeing of our community, and a key element this is to improve our much-loved leisure centres, bringing them up to date. The first step in the process is to ask our community what would help them to be more physically active and what facilities they would like to see at Altrincham Leisure Centre.  We ask people to take the time to view our extensive plans and contribute to our consultation.”

The consultation will be active between 11th January and 30^th January 2022.