City's new leisure plans go on show

A public exhibition at Exeter’s Guildhall will show progress on plans to deliver a new sustainable Leisure Centre to replace Pyramids in the heart of the city.

Exeter Active, the City Council’s leisure centre project, is taking shape, and initial designs for the complex will go on display at the Guildhall at the end of this month (November).

The project will see the current bus and coach park at Paris Street redeveloped to deliver two swimming pools, fitness suite, health spa, exercise studios, café and crèche contained within the UK’s first ultra-sustainable “Passivhaus” leisure building.

The eight lane main pool and four lane “learner” pool will both have moving floors to maximize their flexibility and accessibility for a wide range of water sports, and there will be an additional water confidence pool for babies and young children to get their first taste of a swimming pool environment. The pools will include modern filtration techniques which minimize the use of harmful chemicals while ensuring the water quality is well in excess of the average for a standard UK pool.

The Passivhaus building technique being planned for Exeter Active will ensure a pleasant, comfortable environment all year round, unlike anything currently found in a UK leisure centre.

The ultra-sustainable building method which has already been pioneered in Exeter in social housing and school building at Montgomery Primary School is expected to deliver a 70% saving on energy usage compared to a standard leisure centre. This substantial saving, along with the attractive range of facilities, will ensure the profitability of Exeter Active, generating income for the Council to invest in facilities and services throughout the city.

Council Leader, Pete Edwards, said “Our vision is to deliver a sports and leisure destination in the heart of the city, adding another enviable string to Exeter’s bow as city centres across the UK struggle to adapt to changes in shopping habits and the rise of e-commerce. It is essential that we take a commercially-minded approach to this and future projects, ensuring profitability to enable the Council to reinvest in services for our community in the general background of belt-tightening in central and local government.”

Exeter Active forms an important part of Exeter’s ambitions to become a hub of health and wellbeing in the South West. Cllr Edwards added: “Seventy percent of the city’s population is currently not getting enough exercise to get any physical or mental benefit. Replacing dated and unattractive facilities such as Pyramids, with accessible and comfortable leisure facilities will help to address this problem and make Exeter the most active city in the region.”

The public are invited to attend a drop in exhibition at the Guildhall on Monday 30 November between 12 and 7pm when members of the design team will be present to answer any questions. The display will also be open to the public on Tuesday 1 December between 11am and 7pm. Information from the exhibition, along with online feedback forms, will be posted online at exeteractive.com once the public exhibition has taken place.

It is intended that a planning application for the new leisure centre will be submitted early in 2016.

The attached images and the 3D internal walk though show how the centre might look. 

Take the 3D walk through tour here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB0tj6JxOgg

For more information about the project visit www.exeteractive.com