Almost 400 residents have engaged with the consultation into the future of Balaam Leisure Centre in Plaistow which ended last month. Newham Council is now collating and analysing the results before making a recommendation on the future of the centre.
Balaam Leisure Centre in Balaam Street was closed in December 2018 following the discovery of a serious water leak which made the structure unsafe. It is the oldest of the Council’s four leisure centres and is approaching the end of its design life.
Some 312 people completed the online survey, 41 people attended public meetings and 19 people attended two focus groups. The Council is now considering the responses and a recommendation will be presented to Cabinet in February 2020.
Meanwhile at the Atherton Leisure Centre in Forest Gate improvement works are under way to improve the soft play area and gym facilities, enhancing the overall offer for residents.
There will be more space in the existing gym areas upstairs and a new programmable ground floor gym will allow better access for gym users and more specialised group sessions. There will be new cardio and strength equipment including treadmills, rowing machines, bikes and weights, as well as stretching mats and a Synrgy 360T area.
A new soft play area will be bigger and better when it returns in 2020 with three levels of soft play adventures to explore, including a twin lane slide, rope-bridge, bash bags and for the younger children, a separate baby area.
The upstairs gym area and swimming pools will be open as normal during the works and alternative soft play facilities are available at East Ham Leisure Centre.
The improvement works will take until the end of the year and it’s planned to re-open on Thursday 2nd January 2020. A faulty lift that needs total replacement is expected to be complete by Spring 2020.
Over at East Ham Leisure Centre and Newham Leisure Centre in Plaistow, residents are now able to enjoy the freedom of easy pool access thanks to the introduction of “poolpods”.
“Poolpods” allow swimmers with restricted mobility to have independent and dignified access to the water and can be operated by the swimmer via a wristband, removing the need for assistance.
The “Poolpods” were installed using a grant from The London Marathon Charitable Trust.
Cllr James Asser, Cabinet member for environment, highways and sustainable transport, said: “This is an important time for our leisure centres, with improvements, important repairs and future plans all under way. I am grateful to the residents who engaged with us on the Balaam consultation and I’m very pleased to see improvements to our facilities at Atherton, East Ham and Newham Leisure Centres. It is very important that we continue to improve accessibility for all our residents so everyone can take the benefits that come from regular exercise.”