move Altrincham opens after £20 million transformation

The new state-of-the-art wellbeing facility, move Altrincham, opened its doors on Tuesday 26 August following a major refurbishment.

 

In a special morning ceremony, distinguished guests gathered to celebrate this exciting milestone for the community. Leader of Trafford Council, Cllr Tom Ross, delivered some inspiring words before officially cutting the ribbon alongside Executive Lead for Leisure, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Cllr Eve Parker, CEO of Trafford Council, Sara Todd, Chair of Trafford Leisure, Eamonn O’Rourke, CEO of Trafford Leisure, Jo Cherrett, as well as local ward councillors for Altrincham.

 

With balloons decorating the front reception and local customers eagerly waiting, the doors of move Altrincham were formally opened, ushering in a new era of wellness for the community. Trafford Council’s multi-million-pound investment has transformed the leisure centre into a modern wellness facility fit for the community to enjoy for generations to come.

 

Branded move Altrincham, the centre benefits from two swimming pools – a 25m pool and a 20m pool – both equipped with accessible pool pods.  There is a combined lobby area with pool viewing and café delivered by Altrincham favourite, MOST Bakery, a wet village changing area and an inclusive Changing Places toilet. The centre also boasts a brand new wellbeing spa facility called The Cove.

 

The new move Altrincham also has a wellness assessment room, an enlarged fitness suite, fitness changing and dry change areas, two flexible studio spaces, a live and virtual indoor cycle studio, a four-court sports hall, a gymnastics hub and staff rooms and offices.

 

The new mix of facilities has been developed with support from Sport England to deliver long-term sustainable leisure provision that gives the best health and wellbeing outcomes for local residents.

 

The extensive refurbishment supports Trafford Council’s strategy to get more people moving more often, helping improve health and wellbeing, and is part of its Physical Activity Strategy, ‘Trafford Moving’. It also supports the Council’s corporate priority to reduce health inequalities across the borough.

 

move Altrincham has also replaced its fossil fuel (gas) heating system with Air Source Heat Pumps and Solar Panels, which are significantly more sustainable options than the previous system and supports Trafford Council’s action plan to be Carbon Neutral by 2038.

 

Jo Cherrett is CEO of Trafford Leisure, a community interest company wholly owned by Trafford Council, which manages leisure in Trafford on behalf of the council, using any profits and assets for community benefit. She says: “This is the second site Trafford Leisure has opened under the new move brand, and together we are truly redefining what community leisure looks and feels like.

 

“We’re so thrilled to meet here this morning and finally open our doors to the public. We know it’s been a long time coming, but the wait is over! move Altrincham is now welcoming customers back in a planned, phased way, prioritising our fantastic Learn to Swim programme.

 

“We’ve been absolutely blown away by the pre-opening membership sales; it shows just how much this community has been looking forward to having its wellbeing centre back, and we’re excited to be bringing back the Altrincham team that you know and love, alongside some brilliant new staff members too. Whether you’re bringing babies for their first splash or you’re 90 years young and everything in between, there’s something here for everyone.

 

“I invite everyone to pop down and see what we’ve created for our community. This is about so much more than just a leisure centre; it’s about bringing people together and supporting wellbeing for all ages.”

 

Cllr Eve Parker, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture and Heritage, said: “We’re delighted to present this great new facility – the very best around – to the people of Altrincham. It ties in with our Council priorities for facilitating healthy and independent lives for Trafford people, sport and leisure for all, and addressing climate change.”

 

Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Executive Director for Place, Sport England, said: “We’re investing in places across England to support more people to be active. move Altrincham has been transformed and in turn, the lives of communities across Altrincham and the surrounding areas will be transformed through improved access to sport and leisure opportunities.

 

“Our commitment goes beyond Altrincham – we are partnering with organisations and local communities across Greater Manchester, to support people to lead healthier and happier lives.”

 

The refurbishment follows the successful redevelopment of move Urmston in March 2020 and will see further refurbishments carried out on a phased arrangement in Trafford at Partington, Stretford and Sale leisure centres.

 

A formal celebration acknowledging the successful opening of move Altrincham will be held later this year, for special guests, community leaders and inspiring locals.