The opening of a controversial and problem-plagued new East Lancashire sports and fitness centre will be celebrated with a weekend of free events and taster sessions later this month.
The Cath Thom Leisure Centre at the heart of the £12.6million Wilson Sports Village in Clayton-le-Moors will be officially inaugurated with a civic ceremony on Friday October 10.
This will be followed by a ‘Big Open Weekend’ of free taster sessions, family fun, and feel-good wellbeing on Saturday and Sunday October 11 and 12 October from 11am to 3pm.
The centre will open to the public and operator Hyndburn Leisure members on Monday October 13.
The sports village was the cause of a major controversy when originally proposed by Hyndburn Council with local residents objecting and Great Harwood councillors and residents opposing the scheme over the closure of the swimming pool at the historic Mercer Hall.
Then in September 2024 the project was thrown into doubt when main building contractor ISG collapsed.
In January Universal Civils and Build which has been appointed to complete the scheme by Hyndburn Council and Alliance Leisure its development partner.
Now with the work complete bar final ‘snagging’ checks Hyndburn Leisure is throwing open the doors of The Cath Thom Leisure Centre at Wilson Sports Village for The Big Open Weekend — a two-day celebration of health, fitness, and wellbeing for all ages and abilities.
Across the weekend, visitors can explore everything Hyndburn Leisure has to offer, with special offers, friendly expert advice, and free taster sessions and classes.
Lyndsey Sims, Hyndburn Leisure’s chief executive said: “We want this weekend to be a friendly, open invitation to the whole community.
“Come along, try something new, and discover what makes you feel good — whether that’s a family game on Saturday or a moment of calm on Sunday.”
The new leisure centre is named in honour of Cath Thom, a former councillor and Mayor of Hyndburn who represented Clayton-le-Moors for 16 years as a borough and county councillor and in 1992 was Mayor of Hyndburn.
She later was made Honorary Alderman of the borough.
The new centre includes a swimming pool — something she came to enjoy later in life, after learning to swim at the age of 70.
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