‘People wrote us off before we had started’

LEISURE CENTRE CELEBRATES TWO YEARS BACK AT THE HEART OF COMMUNITY THAT SAVED IT FROM CLOSURE

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

THE loss of Gateshead Leisure Centre in summer 2023 was a dark day for the town.

Gateshead Council’s verdict that it could no longer afford to keep running the beloved facility sparked widespread worries about the physical and mental health of those who used it to keep fit and socialise, for schoolchildren left without a local swimming pool and the sports clubs scrambling to find new homes.

But it also produced a sense of defiance and togetherness among the people of Saltwell and Bensham, a refusal to accept defeat that culminated in community organisation Gateshead Active taking the keys and a 50-year lease to the centre in an effort to breathe fresh life into it and provide a sustainable future.

That was no small undertaking, with the sheer size of the mothballed building and the scale of investment needed presenting a huge challenge for a charity being set up from scratch.

But Sunday, June 14, marked two full years since the centre reopened, a milestone that its staff and trustees take enormous pride in reaching.

Business manager Shelley Sefton, a Bensham native who started out working on the leisure centre's reception desk, said: “We have had a lot to overcome and we are proud this is still here two years later.

“When you see the difference it makes to the community and the good feedback people give us about how much we help them, it shows it is all worthwhile”

Around 60 staff are now employed at the centre and it has just under 2,400 paying members. Ensuring the facility remains financially viable is an ongoing challenge. But, particularly given the collective effort it took to reopen the Alexandra Road site, there is a keen focus on it playing a larger role in the community.