The £3.5m redevelopment of Abbey Leisure Centre has now been completed on behalf of Durham County Council.
Opened to the public in July 2023, the project forms part of the council’s multi-million-pound Leisure Transformation Programme, which includes the refurbishment of existing sites such as Abbey in order to improve the county’s leisure stock. Alliance Leisure is delivering a number of projects for the programme, which will introduce a range of new activities and services to help improve health and wellbeing outcomes and sustain the council’s provision into the future.
A new wellbeing suite has been created in one of the centre’s two squash courts. Offering specialist power assisted equipment from Innerva, the suite will provide a unique exercise and rehabilitation solution ideal for older adults, people suffering from long term health conditions, and those recovering from injury or returning to exercise. It is hoped the new suite will help people to become more active, improve their overall health and even act as a stepping stone into wider leisure facilities. The changing areas and sauna have also been refurbished as part of the project.
The project was delivered by UKLF development partner Alliance Leisure with ISG as principal build contractor, Axiom as project manager and GT3 as architect for the scheme.
Alliance Leisure is currently on site on the redevelopment of Peterlee Leisure Centre.
Our brief was to review Durham County Council’s leisure estate and develop solutions for centres across the county to meet the needs of each local demographic. Our research showed that Abbey Leisure Centre was not being used to its full potential. We therefore proposed to transform the site into a family focussed centre offering facilities for toddlers to teens alongside an expanded health and fitness offer.
It’s rewarding to work on projects where we are able to give leisure facilities a new lease of life, by providing the latest attractions that bring the whole family together. We are proud to have played our part in delivering this project and look forward to seeing the centre thrive for years to come.
