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Green light for £18m new Harpenden leisure, arts and cultural hub

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 An £18m redevelopment project to upgrade leisure, arts and cultural facilities in Harpenden has received the backing of St Albans City and District Council’s Cabinet.

The leisure and cultural facilities in Harpenden are ageing and the swimming pool and sports centre are in separate buildings, making them difficult to manage and maintain.

Last night Cabinet heard about a scheme to create a modern leisure centre and a new arts and cultural centre, both with enhanced high-quality facilities.

It agreed to recommend to full Council that the £18m leisure, arts and cultural facilities redevelopment project be added to the Capital Programme and Budget. The scheme is expected to be self-funding, with increased income from a larger facility. There will be no net contribution from Council Tax payers.

A feasibility study for the project has been carried out but the final facility mix, design and detail of the proposals are yet to be agreed.
The Council is looking at redeveloping Harpenden’s swimming pool site into one modern integrated leisure centre for wet and dry sports activities. Initial proposals include provision for significantly more gym stations than at the current sports centre, a café area and the option of a larger learner pool.

The Council is also proposing to redevelop the existing sports centre into a new arts and cultural centre with a museum display area dedicated to Harpenden. It will allow for more theatre seats and general meeting rooms than at Harpenden Public Halls, as well as a bar and refreshments area.

Initial ideas provide for additional car parking to accommodate the anticipated increase in demand for the improved facilities and to cater for the town’s growing needs.

Existing user groups and Harpenden residents will be consulted on the project as part of a public community engagement exercise that will run to January 2017. They will be invited to take part in an intensive workshop where stakeholders and experts come together to discuss design concepts.

The Council is also planning an enabling development of Harpenden Public Halls at a later date to help provide funding for the new arts and cultural centre.

Upgrading leisure and cultural facilities across the District so that they are fit for purpose for the next 30 years is a key priority for the Council. In the last four years, the Council has opened Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre, re-built Batchwood Sports Centre following a fire, and built the new Cotlandswick Sports Centre.

Cllr Annie Brewster, Portfolio Holder for Sports, Leisure and Heritage at St Albans City and District Council, said: “There is a great opportunity in Harpenden to create fantastic modern leisure, arts and cultural facilities that are a significant improvement on those that currently exist. If full Council approves the £18m project at its meeting in October, then we will be going out to public consultation to work up the detail. We aim to maintain continuity of service for as long as possible while the new facilities are being constructed. The new Harpenden Leisure Centre is due to open in December 2018, followed by the arts and cultural centre a year later.”

The report is included among the agenda and papers for the meeting which are available online. A webcast of the meeting can be watched on the Council's website.

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