New public leisure centre opened in Clapham (From Your Local Guardian)

Council opens first new public leisure centre in Lambeth for 30 years

10:17am Sunday 5th February 2012 in Streatham

A new multi-million pound public leisure centre has opened – the first of its kind in Lambeth for more than 30 years.

The Clapham Leisure Centre on Clapham Manor Street includes a six-lane 25m swimming pool, fitness gym, sports hall and dance and fitness studio.

It is part of an £80m regeneration of Clapham High Street, including a library and medical centre.

Coun Steve Reed, Leader of Lambeth Council,who opened the centre on Friday February 3, said: “The fact we’ve been able to build a brand new community leisure centre at the height of the country’s economic problems is a huge achievement, and great news for people in this part of South London.

With the London 2012 Games just around the corner, we are determined to create a genuine Olympic legacy in Lambeth that benefits local people for decades to come. “We’re not stopping with Clapham Leisure Centre - construction work has already begun on the new ice rink, pool and leisure centre in Streatham, and we’ve recently invested in fantastic floodlit tennis courts on Clapham Common and we are also building a new skate park. This investment all adds up to the biggest expansion of provision in the borough’s history and a fantastic sporting legacy for Lambeth for the 2012 Games.”

The leisure centre and the library have both been provided at no cost to the public purse, funded by the sale of private residential development on both sites, a 19 flat block on Clapham manor Street and a 44-unit block of affordable housing on the same site.