Milton Keynes leisure centres earmarked for £3m project

Three leisure and sports centres in Milton Keynes are set to share £3m worth of investment in improving their facilities.

Milton Keynes City Council has secured the funding for Bletchley Leisure Centre, Woughton Leisure Centre and Windmill Hill Golf Centre as part of a new long-term contract with leisure operator Serco Leisure and More Leisure Community Trust.

The new agreement between the council and Serco, working alongside the trust, brings all three sites under one management contract for up to 15 years.

Serco Leisure currently manages over 50 centres in the UK on behalf of local authorities, Sport England and the national charity for wheelchair sport, WheelPower.

The investment includes a new outdoor water play area at Bletchley Leisure Centre and improvements to the driving range and irrigation system at Windmill Hill Golf Centre.

Nearly a third of the money – around £800,000 – will be spent on new energy-saving initiatives, designed to cut annual energy use by an estimated 1.1m kWh each year, across all centres.

The council’s Cabinet Member for Sport and Leisure, Mick Legg, said: “This new investment will help ensure that these popular centres continue to play that role for years to come.”

Brian Taylor, Chair of Milton Keynes City Council, said: “This contract win gives us the opportunity to further expand our Active Wellbeing programme, working with the council’s Sport & Active Communities Team to engage under-represented groups and support improvements in the health and wellbeing of Milton Keynes’ citizens.”

“Our priority as a leisure trust is to create welcoming, inclusive spaces that inspire people to stay active and healthy.”