Council plans to spend £1.3m on leisure centre improvements in Alnwick, Ashington, Hexham and Prudhoe

The money will be used to replace the boilers at Prudhoe Waterworld and the roof of Hexham’s Wentworth Leisure Centre’s sports hall as well as electrical upgrades at Willowburn Leisure Centre in Alnwick and new tiles for the floor of Ashington Leisure Centre’s learner pool.

Cabinet member for leisure, Coun Jeff Watson, hailed the county’s leisure portfolio as one of the best in the country. He added that the funding would ensure that some of the county’s older centres would continue to be maintained to a high standard.

He said: “I am proud of the leisure service we have in Northumberland – it is one of the premier leisure centre offers to the public anywhere in the country, if not the best offer in the country. It is very good to see how much money we are putting in.

“We want to make sure that all our leisure centres are up and running at a first-class level, not just our new ones. We also want to make sure we do a really good maintenance programme on the older ones.

“This money is already in the budget, this is just about how we utilise it.”

Coun Watson explained that the boilers at Prudhoe Waterworld were ageing, necessitating the need for a £180,000 replacement. He said the new boiler, which comes on the back of a £1.6 million improvement scheme, would pay for itself in the long run thanks to its greater efficiency.

In Hexham, there have been discussions around replacing the roof of the sports hall since 2007. It has been agreed that the work is now needed, at a cost of £500,000.

Electrical systems in Alnwick will be rerouted following a number of issues. A new air handling system will also be installed to improve the centre’s carbon footprint with the work costing £600,000.

The tiles in Ashington are being replaced following complaints that the current tiles were causing “chafing” on users’ feet. Following inspections, it was agreed that the tiles needed to be replaced at a cost of £50,000.

Gill O’Neill, Northumberland County Council’s executive director of public health, said: “We know that being active every day is good for our physical and mental health.

“The more time we spend being active, the greater the health benefits. Our leisure centres are a core component of enabling residents to achieve being active across the county. We’re very proud of them and it’s important we keep investing in their upkeep to keep them in good condition and safe and welcoming for all the residents who use them and the staff who work there.

“These range of repairs and improvements will ensure our centres continue to play a key role in improving people’s health and wellbeing.”