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Community celebrates leisure opening

10 June 2003

The community of Newington are celebrating the completion of a £360,000 project to transform the Newington Leisure Centre into a state-of-the-art facility, which will be formally opened by the Chairman of Annandale & Eskdale Sports & Leisure Trust (AESLT) Ernie Turpie.

This is the third upgrade since the centre began life as a small meeting room in 1989. In 1994 the main hall was built and opened by Councillors John Thornburn and Hugh Young and was at the time managed by Annandale and Eskdale District Council. Two years later the gym was added to the back of the building and in 1998 the centre became the responsibility of Annandale and Eskdale Sports and Leisure Trust.

Supported by an award of £187,627 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund's Sports Facilities Programme, £40,000 from Dumfries and Galloway Council and £133,000 from the AESLT. The latest redevelopment includes upgrading the indoor changing rooms, a new outdoor changing portacabin, a fitness suite including cardio vascular and resistance gym equipment, converting the meeting room into a dance/fitness studio, and adding a sauna and Jacuzzi.

Alan Barlow, Managing Director, Annandale and Eskdale Sports and Leisure Trust, said: "Our investment in Newington Leisure Centre is part of an ongoing commitment from the Leisure Trust to improve the leisure provision in Annandale & Eskdale.

"We are pleased to be able to offer a facility, which now caters for people's changing expectations in leisure provision. No longer will people have to travel to Dumfries or Carlisle to use the type of facility which is so readily available in other towns across Britain."

Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland, said: "I am delighted that the redevelopment of this facility is completed, enabling the community of Newington access to a quality facility.

"Sport brings positive benefits to communities particularly among young people, helping them build social skills and providing positive alternatives in life. Facilities such as these help to create incentives for more people to adopt healthy, active lifestyles and in the longer term creating a fitter Scotland."

  • The opening of the Newington Sports and Leisure Centre development is on Friday 13 June at 2.00pm.
  • Other contributors to the project are:
    - The Leisure Trust
    - Dumfries and Galloway Council
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