Hundreds of gym-goers, fitness fanatics and health enthusiasts gathered at a newly-refurbished leisure centre at the weekend, to mark its reopening.
Visitors were able to celebrate the successful completion of the £1.5million project of renovating the Central Park Leisure Centre, Gooshays Drive, Harold Hill, and improving the facilities at the site.
Those who made the effort to visit, made use of its refurbished fitness suite which fully reopened for the first time on Saturday, and the host of free activities on offer.
Mayor of Havering, Councillor Linda Van den Hende, officially reopened the new-look centre, and joined council leader Councillor Roger Ramsey, and cabinet member for culture and community engagement Melvin Wallace, to try out the new equipment.
Councillor Melvin Wallace said: “We are pleased with the extension of Central Park Leisure Centre.
“Visitors enjoyed trying out all the new equipment which will help local residents to keep on top of their health and fitness.
“This is an exciting milestone for the borough and I encourage many more residents to come down and take full advantage of the new facilities.”
Harold Hill’s leisure centre is one of three in the borough to be exciting residents.
Plans have been unveiled for a new complex to replace the current Hornchurch Sports Centre, equipped with an expanded gym, four tennis courts, and an eight lane 25m swimming pool.
Progress is also being made with the Romford Leisure Centre which is due to be completed in six months time.
Havering Council and sports and leisure management company Everyone Active, have invested significantly in the Harold Hill centre to double the size of the gym and completely refurbish its changing area by providing new showers, cubicles and vanity units.
Everyone Active’s contract manager Tom Fletcher said: “It was fantastic to see so many people turning out over the weekend and taking the chance to try new ways of getting active.
“We’re delighted that through our partnership with the council, we’ve been able to make an investment that will benefit the whole community.”
For more information about Central Park Leisure Centre, call 01708 382820 or visit everyoneactive.com
Share