A contractor has been appointed to develop Medway’s new state-of-the-art leisure centre, with swimming pools, a gym, fitness studio and cafe.
Willmott Dixon Construction Limited will be responsible for making the exciting plans, revealed earlier this year, come to life.
The new modern, family-friendly facility will have two swimming pools – a children’s fun pool with flume, wave ball pool and beach area, and a training pool for lane swimming and lessons, as well as a fitness gym and room for exercise classes and children’s parties.
Building work at the site in Bloors Lane, Rainham, is due to begin in the new year and it is anticipated that the state-of-the-art leisure centre will be ready for residents to use as early as the summer of 2024.
Described as the UK’s leading independent construction and property services company, Willmott Dixon has also developed three of the buildings at University of Kent’s Canterbury campus - the business school, school of economics and medical school - and has just completed two projects for North Kent College - a performing arts building and a motor vehicle workshop.
A computer generated image of how the pool area may look. Credit: Space & Place
Medway’s new leisure centre supports our ambition of providing more child-friendly facilities and further opportunities for young people. It will have a modern, family-friendly look and feel, including family and accessible changing rooms. There will also be electric charging parking spaces, in support of Medway’s Climate Change and carbon neutral aims and ambitions.
We are investing £23.650million on the development, replacing former and much-loved Splashes which was demolished in February 2022 after extensive surveys were carried out to assess the building’s condition.
Providing residents with greater opportunities
Cllr Howard Doe, Deputy Leader of Medway Council and Portfolio Holder for Community Services, said: “I am pleased that construction will soon get underway for a modern, family-friendly leisure centre. The new development in Rainham will provide residents with greater opportunities to enjoy leisure facilities on their doorstep. Customers will be able to visit the gym, join-in an exercise class, take a dip in the pool and even relax in a café overlooking the pool areas.
“Splashes opened in 1990 and was not only a facility where many of Medway’s now adult population learnt to swim, but it also likely hosted their birthday parties as children. I am so pleased that we will once again be able to provide a family-friendly leisure facility for Medway residents to visit and enjoy.”
Leaving a lasting legacy
Adam Worrall, Director at Willmott Dixon said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Medway Council to deliver a cutting-edge leisure centre for its residents to enjoy. Through our network of local supply chain partners and our embedded social value programme, we look forward to leaving a lasting legacy in the local community, we can’t wait to get started!”