Formerly known as Brough Park Leisure Centre, the transformed facility has been officially unveiled following an extensive redevelopment programme that forms part of the wider Levelling Up regeneration of Leek town centre. Created to support healthier lifestyles, improve accessibility and deliver long-term community value, the new centre significantly expands the town’s health, wellbeing and leisure provision.

The project has been funded by £10 million from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, alongside over £3 million from the council. Sport England has also contributed £1.8 million plus an extra £300K  from its Active Environment Budget used to transform external spaces, creating new  outdoor play, outdoor fitness, pétanque courts. A further £1.1 million has been secured via the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The investment has transformed the former facility into a modern, energy efficient health and wellbeing hub tailored to the evolving needs of the local community

Among the centre’s most innovative additions is a new multipurpose activity and entertainment space centred around a state-of-the-art golf simulator. Introduced following a strong business case developed by Alliance Leisure during the latter stages of the project, the space has been created to attract new audiences while providing a flexible community venue capable of hosting sensory sessions, film screenings, interactive games, parties and corporate activities.

The new facility broadens the centre’s appeal to a wider demographic, including families, young people, older adults and individuals with additional needs. Importantly, it also addresses a gap in local provision, with no comparable leisure-based golf simulator facilities currently operating in the area.

Alongside the new entertainment space, the upgraded centre features a new 25-metre, six-lane swimming pool alongside a separate teaching pool, a 60-station gym, a group cycling studio, a second fitness studio and a Future Studio immersive fitness installation by Flareform, delivering immersive workout experiences.

A new Community Wellness Suite, featuring an EGYM Strength Series circuit, has also been introduced to support exercise referral programmes and tailored physical activity interventions for people living with long-term health conditions or requiring additional support to become more active.

The family offer has been significantly enhanced through the addition of a large indoor adventure soft play area which includes a baby sensory area and TAG play technology to enhance the birthday party offering, dedicated party facilities and fully accessible changing provision, including a Changing Places facility.

Sustainability has also been central to the redevelopment. The project has converted the centre into an all-electric facility, replacing gas boilers with air source heat pumps and introducing energy-saving measures including LED lighting throughout, improved building fabric and rooftop solar panels capable of generating approximately 42kW of renewable energy. Together, the improvements will significantly reduce the building’s long-term carbon emissions and operational energy consumption.

Will Gardner, Assistant Regional Director at Alliance Leisure, says: “The opening of MyActive Leek is a hugely significant moment for the local community and a fantastic example of what can be achieved through strong collaboration and long-term investment in public leisure infrastructure.

“This development has completely transformed the former facility into a modern, inclusive and highly sustainable community wellbeing hub that will support residents of all ages and abilities. From the expanded swimming and fitness offer to the innovative golf simulator and wellness facilities, every aspect of the centre has been carefully considered to encourage more people to be active, improve wellbeing and create lasting community impact.”

The redevelopment has been delivered by Alliance Leisure through the UK Leisure Framework, owned and managed by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd (DLL). The wider project team included Speller Metcalfe, Roberts Limbrick, Abacus, FMG, Hensall and Flareform.

You can view the full case study on the Alliance Leisure website here