Rebuilding a fairer Hackney - Green light given for £1.5 million revamp of West Reservoir Centre
Hackney’s West Reservoir Centre will undergo work to the tune of £1.5m to make it more accessible for children and adults alike, as part of Council efforts to rebuild a fairer and healthier Hackney as we emerge from the pandemic.
New cycle parking, a space for land-based equipment to support triathlon training, additional showers, a new cafe and a pontoon pool tank for safer open water swimming are just some of the improvements that are set to be made to the popular watersports centre as part of the £1.5m funding injection, which was approved at Cabinet last week.
The improvements, which will boost activities available to families, children and adults, follow the recent installation of power-generating solar panels on the centre’s roof as part of an initiative launched by Hackney Light and Power, the Council’s publicly-owned energy company.
There will also be £500,000 spent on funding a learners pool at London Fields Lido for children and adults who are learning to swim, and £100,000 will pay for the replacement of floor tiles and the sports hall floor at Clissold Park Leisure Centre - as part of further measures given the green light this week.
We’re committed to investing in our leisure spaces because we know just how important they are to people’s mental and physical wellbeing, particularly after the significant amount of time that we’ve been spending inside over the past year to help keep Hackney safe.
This funding boost will help improve the infrastructure and facilities of some of our most popular leisure spaces, to help ensure that every single person is able to enjoy the benefits that they can bring.
Other improvements that will be made to the West Reservoir Centre include:
- The replacement of all pontoons to support safer and more controlled open water swimming
- Cycle parking at the front of the main building
- Transforming the existing cafe into a bar area for events
- Outside showers for open water swimming
- An external sauna and steam room
- A new entrance to the west side of the building through the existing foyer to leave the main pump room for events
- New fencing to enable the east of the site to be locked at night
- A new security fence behind the houses on the east of the reservoir