THE doors have closed on Altrincham Leisure Centre for the final time, as work starts on an exciting multi-million pound redevelopment; reopening as move Altrincham in 2024.
Trafford Council’s investment into the scheme will transform the tired leisure centre into a state-of-the-art modern leisure facility for the community to enjoy.
Branded move Altrincham, the centre will benefit from a 25m swimming pool, a 20m learner pool, a pool pod to improve accessibility, a combined lobby area with pool viewing and café, a wet village change, an inclusive changing places toilet and a health and wellbeing spa facility.
There will also be a wellness assessment room, an enlarged fitness suite, fitness changing and dry change areas, two flexible studio spaces, an immersive indoor cycle studio, a four-court sports hall and storage, a gymnastics hub and staff rooms and offices.
The new-look facility will help Trafford Leisure achieve its vision of becoming the most active place in England.
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 said: “We are retaining most of
our current workforce from Altrincham during the full closure, finding them alternative work at Trafford Leisure’s other sites, to ensure we still have our reliable team of experts to welcome members back to move Altrincham in the summer of 2024.
“The local community in and around Altrincham are passionate about their town and have an overwhelming desire to see their community thrive.
“When we re-open our doors, the modern, fit-for-purpose leisure venue
will be an inspiring space to help local residents with every aspect of their wellbeing.
“It will become the second site Trafford Leisure will open under the new brand name, move.”
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 refurbishment follows the successful redevelopment of move Urmston in March 2020 and will see further refurbishments carried out on a phased arrangement at both Stretford and Sale Leisure Centres.
The investment supports Trafford Council’s strategy and commitment 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 will include the replacement of the fossil fuel (gas) heating system with Air Sourced Heat Pumps and Solar Panels, which are significantly more sustainable options than the existing systems and support Trafford Council’s action plan to be Carbon Neutral by 2038.
Councillor Jo Harding, Trafford Council’s executive member for culture, leisure and strategic partnerships, added: “This is not just a lick of paint – we will be totally transforming this centre like we did at move Urmston and the results will be just as impressive.
“We are investing millions of pounds into this project as we believe that is the right thing to do to ensure residents are given top-class facilities to help them improve their health, fitness and wellbeing.”
A PROJECT to upgrade and modernise the health and fitness facilities at a North Lancashire hotel has been completed.
Lancaster House Hotel’s Sandpiper Health Club has benefited from a new steam room and wet area and the addition of a range of the latest gym equipment and weights systems.
The fitness studio now features a host of innovative, high-tech cardiovascular and strength conditioning equipment manufactured by Nautilus.
New facilities include two rowing machines, spinning bikes and cross trainers for those wanting to push themselves and improve their aerobic
and anaerobic fitness levels and endurance.
These are complemented by the addition of various weights and cable machines designed for muscle tone and strengthening work.
The completion of the modernisation project at the hotel, which is run by English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, coincides with a special offer on gym membership to kickstart new year fitness drives for local residents.
In the pool area, the steam room has undergone a complete renovation with a small waterfall as its centrepiece.
The sauna has also been upgraded,
a new hot and cold shower installed and there is underfloor heating for that extra bit of luxury.
New drinking water machines add another level of care and detail.
General manager Emma Underwood said: “The new year is traditionally a time when local residents decide to roll up their sleeves and make an effort to get themselves fitter after the festive period.
“It’s perfect timing in that we’ve just completed these modern upgrades in the Sandpiper Health Club.
“What better way to start your 2023 fitness drive in a safe and healthy environment with some of the latest technology in gym equipment.
“Whether you’re looking to kickstart a new fitness regime, training for an event or trying to target a specific area for strength, weight loss or toning, we have a dedicated team of qualified instructors and personal trainers to encourage you to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle.”
New Sandpiper Health Club members can now get a six-week membership for only £60 until February 5. The special offer gives them full access to the fitness studio, the chance to sign up for ‘Stretch and relax’ and Nordic walking classes for all abilities, and access to the pool and wet room facilities for swimming and relaxation.
RECENT research found that unpaid carers find physical activity harder compared to other adults and face poorer health outcomes as a result of caring.
Yet, unpaid carers who were able to do more physical activity saw real health benefits.
More than 6.5 million people in the UK are unpaid carers who support a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill. Carers UK’s ‘Carers and Physical Activity’ report examined unpaid carers and physical activity, focusing on the barriers, motivation and experiences of unpaid carers aged over 55.
The research revealed that many carers face problems with their own health and wellbeing as a result of their caring role and provides clear evidence that unpaid carers are at a health disadvantage when compared with their peers who don’t have caring responsibilities.
The study found carers are less likely to take part in physical activity and can face significant barriers in doing so.
The report also showed that loneliness and the inability to take part in physical activity are linked.
Carers UK has partnered with digital workout specialist 1FitLife to create bespoke activity wellbeing videos as part of its Carers Active Project to help address the challenges the Carers and Physical Activity report revealed.
Carers Active, the three-year project, funded by Sport England, has allowed the charity to create a ‘Carers Active Hub’ to help this group make being active part of their daily routine in the light of research that shows carers are often isolated and finding the time and affordable access to physical activity is challenging.
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK said: “Caring can have a huge effect on people’s lives, plans and normal routines.
“Physical activity is often the last thing
a carer would be thinking about while they may be looking after a loved one, family member or friend.
“It is important that carers look after both their physical and mental health, and so it was essential that we found accessible routes for unpaid carers to embrace their own wellbeing.
“The videos are tailor-made specifically for carers, taking into account the various challenges they face which carers have indicated are so important.
“It is hoped that these videos will provide some of the motivation and
help carers to incorporate more physical activity into their day.
“The sessions are bitesize and no longer than 15-20 minutes long. In addition, a series of 30-second videos are available, demonstrating simple, functional movements and stretches, which unpaid carers can incorporate into their daily lives.”
1FitLife managing director David Langridge added: “Unpaid carers are often guilty of not doing something for themselves, and throughout filming we considered ‘who cares for the carers?’ The content was created with them at the forefront of our minds.
“We filmed the videos at our studios, with unpaid carers, reflecting their real-life experiences. It was wonderful to work with the carers, as this makes the content all the more relatable. Carers needed to see themselves participating in the exercise sessions.
“The programme we created was always mindful of carers’ circumstances, understanding their energy levels and time available may be short.
“The online sessions are simple, often with seated exercise variations, and were voiced over in post-production to gently guide carers through the routines. It was important to 1FitLife that the sessions help carers not only to get more active, but to improve their self-worth and value.”
FITNESS industry veteran and business development expert Erwin Korst has been appointed head of sales at Funxtion as the team rapidly ramps up international expansion plans.
Erwin has been described as ‘the leading fitness sales management consultant’ in the health and fitness industry and an ‘incredibly positive, engaging and inspiring individual’.
He now joins Funxtion as the head of sales, bringing 30 years of health and fitness industry experience to the growing team.
After studying at the Sports Academy in the Netherlands, Erwin embarked on a successful career as the sales director for many major fitness organisations,
Director of Operations: Dominic Musgrave Tel: 01226 734407 dm@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
Studio manager: Paul Hopkinson ph@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
Assistant studio manager: Scott Firth sf@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
Sales: Tony Barry Tel: 01226 734605 tb@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
www.workout-uk.co.uk
including HealthCity, SportCity, Fit For Free, Fitland and Les Mills Benelux where he was the business development director delivering sales training and integrating sales systems around the world.
Erwin joins Funxtion after his most recent role as vice president of enterprise sales at Xplor Technology, a software and payment specialist company servicing the health and fitness industry.
“I’ve known Erwin for quite some time and it gives me great pleasure to finally call him a colleague, said Ernst de Neef, co-founder and CEO at Funxtion.
“We look forward to working with him as we focus on building revenue and delivering world-class customer
experiences.”
Erwin’s keen eye for connecting the right solutions to his customers comes from his first-hand experience as a fitness facility operator, running his own high-end boutique in the Netherlands from 2014 to 2018 called Fitness Club.
“I’m excited to remain in the fitness world and am particularly happy to join the Funxtion team leading the industry in scalable, white-label digital fitness content and omnichannel solutions,” he added.
“I’m looking forward to commencing my position as head of sales and helping fitness operators worldwide to overcome the obstacles that slow their business down and grow for the future. ”
ESCAPE Fitness has been announced ‘winner’ of an environmental award for innovation in the health and wellness sector at a prestigious awards ceremony held at the Houses of Parliament.
The award was part of the annual Green Apple Environmental Awards to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world.
Ritchie Januszek, product and service executive director at Escape Fitness, said: “ Escape is an environmentally responsible company, continually innovating and reviewing our transport and manufacturing processes to lower our environmental impact.
“Our own manufacturing facility –Evergreen Barbell, based here in the UK, is reimagining the manufacture
and supply of commercial grade fitness equipment to move towards a more sustainable future that provides the outstanding functionality to the consumer whilst also protecting the planet.
“Whilst winning awards is not our motivation reviewing and adapting our products and processes, it is fantastic to have our efforts recognised on the global stage by The Green Organisation.”
Launched in 1994 by The Green Organisation, The Green Apple Environment Awards have become the biggest environmental awards campaign on Earth, with entries from Governments, Ministries and Regional Authorities as well as companies, organisations, communities, etc. across both the private and public sectors.
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