Garstang pool to close over summer

From mid-July to early September, the pool at Garstang Leisure Centre, in Oak Road, will be shut while £140,000 of work is carried out there.

The men and women’s changing rooms will be refurbished, the shower area will be extended, and new lockers, cubicles, and wall and floor finishes are planned, Wyre Council documents revealed.

Work to extend the centre’s gym, refurbish the changing rooms, and add a disabled changing stall is also on the cards, with 21 new pieces of equipment proposed, including free weights, and resistance and cardio machines.

That work will cost £170,000. “The leisure centre will remain open as much as possible during construction works, although it is inevitable that there will be some disruption to customers,” documents read.

“The swimming pool will close during the construction period,” a report by leisure and culture portfolio holder Coun Lynne Bowen said.

“It is anticipated the works will commence on July 18 and be concluded by September 2, coinciding with the centre’s quietest period over the school summer holidays.

“The leisure centre will remain open as much as possible during construction works, although it is inevitable that there will be some disruption to customers. It is anticipated the works will commence on July 4 and be concluded by September 2.”

The council said it agreed to fund the work, which totals £338,828 after red tape, in March.

It described the work as a key part of its business plan. Councillors will today (Wednesday) be asked to fund the gym’s new equipment.

The investment will be recovered over a five-year period from the YMCA’s budget at no additional cost to the council, Coun Bowen said.

The equipment will be owned by the council if and when the contract with YMCA ends, she added.

Michael Harrison, the YMCA’s senior marketing manager, says the revamp is “well overdue”. He said: “The changing rooms really needed modernising.”