The Sands Centre redevelopment recently celebrated the completion of an expansion to the leisure centre in Carlisle which added 40,000sqft to the existing building
The opening ceremony of the Sands Centre redevelopment saw local dignitaries such as the leader of Carlisle City Council, the mayor of Carlisle and the chair of Sport England to celebrate completion of the £27m expansion.
Funded by Carlisle City Council and a £2.2m Sport England grant, the new build extension adds 40,000sqft to the existing building.
The Sands Centre redevelopment has delivered a full complement of new or refurbished facilities
The new buidling offers a 25m main pool and 20m learner pool, with a moveable floor, which allows multi-purpose use of the pool, as well as reducing chemical use and being more energy efficient.
There is a four-court sports hall with a spectator gallery, full equipped gym, and a spinning studio and dance studios. It also boasts a café and bar areas to be provided by Hickory’s.
The improved facilities also include a range of sustainable features which will support Carlisle City Council’s plans for reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency and providing sustainable, healthy transport options.
The new Sands Centre building is set across two storeys and accessed by a bespoke internal street.
The site will also improve musculoskeletal healthcare provision in Carlisle
The project also consolidates the existing arrangements with the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) Musculoskeletal (MSK) team. The MSK team already provide treatment services at The Sands Centre but will be able to expand their services and develop new joint/collective treatment and rehabilitation activities with GLL and other partners.
Joanna Manley, head of physiotherapy at NCIC, said:
“We are delighted that The Sands Centre redevelopment has provided us with the opportunity to deliver our Carlisle Integrated Musculoskeletal (IMSK) Physiotherapy service from a state-of-the-art health and leisure facility. Being located there rather than in a hospital setting can provide significant health and wellbeing benefits to our service users.
“The service will be delivered in a non-clinical environment and promotes healthy lifestyle choices with shared use of the fitness suite and potentially the pool facilities in the future. This will also allow us to improve our rehabilitation provision for people with new or longstanding MSK conditions and disorders. We look forward to developing our services further in this fantastic facility.”
Maximising opportunities for physical activity in Carlisle
Chris Boardman MBE, chair of Sport England, said:
“Sport England’s mission is to make sure that everyone – regardless of background, bank balance, gender or where they live – has the opportunity to get active. And fantastic spaces like the Sands Centre can play a huge part in that. We’re delighted to have supported the Centre to give local people more opportunities to enjoy the physical, mental and social rewards of an active lifestyle.”
National contractor Wates Construction undertook the works on behalf of Carlisle City Council. Dave Saville, regional managing director, Wates Construction North said:
“The Sands Centre has been carefully designed to support the long-term wellbeing of Carlisle communities and we’re proud to say the positive impact of this build goes even further than the end asset.
“We committed to making construction benefit the wider region through delivering social value, maximising local employment both through the supply chain and provision of training opportunities to young people as well as ensuring the build prioritised sustainability throughout. I, and all the Wates team, are thrilled the Sands Centre is now open and hope Carlisle residents enjoy it for years to come.”
