Sports centre packs a punch!

Active Luton staff proudly showed off the new Lewsey Sports Park, which is now home to a 70-station gym, a spinning studio with state-of-the-art bikes, brand new boxing facilities and five squash courts.

More than 40 fitness classes a week are available at the centre, with plans to increase that number to 70.

Active Luton, which runs Luton’s sport and fitness facilities on behalf of Luton Borough Council, borrowed £1 million from the Co-operative Bank for the project, with the council acting as guarantor.

The Amateur Boxing Association for England put £100,000 into the project, and England Squash and Racketball put in £50,000.

The new centre will provide a permanent home for the Lewsey Boxing Club and for the Luton & Dunstable Squash and Rackets Club.

Helen Barnett, chief executive of Active Luton, said the centre had seen 500 people attend for gym inductions in the three weeks since the centre opened and nearly 300 already taking part in classes.

“We want to say a huge thanks to our partners because we were looking at all the ways we could get the money together,” she said. “Because we’re a charitable organisation and we had no history of borrowing, we needed to find an organisation that had the same kind of ethos.

“The Co-op supports local communities and the council went through our business case and decided they would back us.”

Ms Barnett also thanked Sport England for helping the trust link up with the boxing and squash organisations, and praised Active Luton staff for their work in getting the centre up and running.

Active Luton chair Andrew Cook said the project was testament to the trust’s determination.

He said: “Particularly in this climate, people will tell you things can’t happen and won’t happen. This shows that even in trying circumstances, you can do it if you actually put your mind to it.”

Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins took the opportunity to try out some of the equipment, and congratulated everyone involved.

“Lewsey has a wonderful sporting tradition,” he said. “I’m absolutely delighted that this has happened in what are very difficult times.”