One step closer to Aqua Vale’s redevelopment
Archived press release
Date Published: 31/01/11
Aqua Vale is in line for a major upgrade
Exciting plans for a £5.8 million upgrade at the Aqua Vale Swimming and Fitness Centre in Aylesbury have taken another important step forward.
Aylesbury Vale District Council’s development control committee last week (27 January) agreed to defer and delegate final approval of the scheme to the authority's planning officers, subject to the completion of a legal agreement.
The proposed redevelopment by AVDC, working in partnership with the Aylesbury Vale Community Trust, will greatly enhance the 10 year-old leisure centre and provide top-class facilities for customers.
Under the scheme:
• A new retractable roof will cover the current outdoor pool to offer both indoor and outdoor use dependent on weather conditions
• The café will be relocated to the front of the building to enable park users to access the facility
• New ‘dry side’ changing rooms and additional ‘wet side’ changing facilities will be created
• A second flume will be added to the swimming pool
• The reception area and fitness suite will be extended to about double their current size
• A new multi-functional room, which can be used for community hire, will be created
• The car park will be altered, within its existing footprint, to provide 40 additional parking spaces, increasing the number to 140 overall
A combined heat and power system will also be installed to help reduce Aqua Vale’s carbon footprint. The system will run off natural gas and produce electricity on site to power the centre.
This will reduce the centre’s running costs and the expense of buying in electricity from the National Grid. It is expected that this will help deliver carbon savings of around 460 tonnes per year. This is the same amount of emissions from about 80, three-bedroom houses.
It’s anticipated that the revamped facilities will be ready in time for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
The redevelopment works were identified in a feasibility study commissioned by the council to decide what improvements needed to be made to ensure the centre continues to offer the very best facilities to residents.
AVDC has pulled together the funding for the scheme which includes a generous contribution from the Aylesbury Vale Community Trust.
Aqua Vale opened in 2001 and attracts around 500,000 visitors each year. Although AVDC owns the centre, the Trust is responsible for the strategic management and development of the facility.
Councillor David Thompson, Cabinet Member for Leisure at AVDC, said: “The go-ahead for the Aqua Vale refurbishment is excellent news and will enable us to provide substantially improved facilities for visitors to the centre sooner rather than later. We want to increase participation in sport and physical activity and help everyone in the Vale to improve their health. Modern, top-class facilities are a vital part of this. I very much hope that the scheme will be completed in time for the 2012 Games which will hopefully inspire even more local people to become active.”
Miles Buckinghamshire, Chairman of the Aylesbury Vale Community Trust, said: “We are delighted that AVDC is committed to investing in improving the facilities for all Aqua Vale users. This investment together with other investments from the Trust’s resources, such as the new features in the under fives pool, will ensure that our users will continue to enjoy the experience of both socialising and exercising in a modern facility.”