The £2.5m makeover development at Leisure Cheltenham, near Pittville Park; has been commissioned and funded by Cheltenham Borough Council. £330,000 funding has been contributed by Sport England towards the swimming facilities as part of its Swim Local programme.

The plans include extending the fitness suite with two new exercise studios and new cardio equipment for the gym which will see improved functional training facilities; the new studios will also include virtual classes delivered through Les Mills to complement the existing exercise class programmes.

There will be a new aquatic play space and the changing spaces and reception area are also being upgraded.

Councillor Flo Clucas, cabinet member for healthy lifestyles at Cheltenham Borough Council, says: "I am delighted and proud that Leisure at Cheltenham has grown so much in popularity in the past two years and as a council, I am pleased that we have been able to work with The Cheltenham Trust to bring forward these plans which will accommodate growing customer demand, both in the facilities and the classes and activities.''

The Cheltenham Trust's chief executive, Julie Finch, continues: "We're very excited to see the project actually come to life after a significant amount of planning.

"As a not for profit organisation, we can continue to reinvest money back into our sites across Cheltenham, continually improving the customer experience and offering the best in health and fitness space and equipment. We were particularly keen to ensure that any of our customers who have special needs are properly catered for, which has resulted in a number of key re-design features."

All work should be completed by the summer.

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