Swimming the Olympic Legacy
Brummies will soon have the chance to swim the Olympic Legacy as Sparkhill is set to become the first community in the country to benefit from a permanent London 2012 Olympic Games pool.
Cllr Ian Ward
The pool is one of nine training pools from the Olympic Park used by athletes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Each has been dismantled and will be relocated across the country - at a fraction of the price of a new pool - and the installation at Sparkhill is set to be the first pool tank that is permanently installed.
The pool installation is part of a set of proposals for a new Sparkhill Pool and Fitness Centre to be approved at Cabinet on Monday 17 March 2014. The pool at the same site as the new development has been closed since 2009 and now the residents of Sparkhill and beyond can look forward to a new facility which will include a 25metre six lane swimming pool, a learner pool, an 80 station fitness suite, dance studio, community room and sauna and steam facilities.
The proposals for Sparkhill Pool and Fitness Centre are linked to another report for discussion on at Cabinet on 17 March on the wider sport and leisure facilities framework agreement. Sparkhill Pool and Fitness Centre has been used as the evaluation tool for the procurement of the framework and will be the first project to be implemented.
Deputy Leader for Birmingham City Council, Cllr Ian Ward, said: “Our successful bid for one of the pools from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games means that we will soon have the chance to literally immerse ourselves in the Olympic Legacy ! Not only is that an exciting prospect for anyone who was fired up by 2012, but it is also coming to Birmingham at a fraction of the cost of a new pool. The new Sport and Leisure Facilities Framework agreement will ensure that we can deliver good value, cost effective leisure facilities, despite the considerable budgetary restraint that we face.”
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For media information contact Debbie Harrison on 303 4476
