Posted on 7th Jul
Mansfield’s double Olympic champion swimmer, Rebecca Adlington, opened Ollerton’s new state-of-the-art swimming pool.
The four-time Olympic medallist, who brought home two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, took the first swim in the new pool, accompanied by children representing Ollerton and Boughton’s Junior Town Council.
A weekend of free taster sessions followed at the Newark and Sherwood District Council £3m five-lane pool at the Dukeries Leisure Centre.
Construction of the 20m x 10m pool was led by the district council’s project partner, ReCreation, and is fully accessible with a traditional hoist as well as a ‘Poolpod’ — a multi-award winning swimming pool lift, originally developed for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
The pool has its own unisex changing village and spectator area.
Free taster sessions for primary schools have been arranged ahead of school swimming from September.
Lane swimming, parent and toddler sessions and family fun activities are also set to take place daily at the centre.
The pool adjoins the existing leisure centre building, which is run by the district council’s own leisure company, Active4Today.
Coun Roger Jackson, chairman of Newark and Sherwood’s Leisure and Environment Committee, said: “After a very difficult year, we are immensely proud and excited to open the doors to our new pool. This is another milestone project for the district council that will do a great deal for the health and wellbeing of the residents of Ollerton and the surrounding communities.
“Leisure centres across the country are recovering from many months of closure and, despite a challenging year, we forged ahead with the pool’s construction work.
“The need for future generations to have access to outstanding leisure and wellbeing facilities has never been more pressing, so I want to thank all the project partners for making this incredible vision a reality.”
Andy Carolan, managing director of Active4Today, said: “We are excited by the opportunities this fantastic new resource will provide for the customers of Dukeries Leisure Centre. This not only includes people just wanting to drop in and have a swim, but also our regular members from Dukeries, Newark, Blidworth and our partner site, Southwell, who will also be able to use the great new facility, inclusive within their existing memberships.
“The investment that the council has made for the people of Newark and Sherwood is tremendous and I am sure this swimming pool will help to change the lives of many residents, with regards to the water safety skills they can learn and the enjoyment and health benefits they will gain from regular exercise.”
Rebecca added: “It’s been great to come down and see the new pool in action. Having access to these facilities is going to make a real difference to local families, giving them a place to stay active, teach their children how to swim, and socialise after such a difficult year.”
The pool project received support from Sport England, which committed a capital grant of £250,000 from its Community Asset Fund that is dedicated to enhancing spaces in local communities that give people the chance to be active.
