Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre closes for £8million refurbishment

COWDENBEATH Leisure Centre closed this week to undergo some big refurbishments.

As previously reported in the Times, Fife Council set aside £7.8million for the project and there is also £250,000 from the education and children’s services for the relocation of the library.

The venue is operated by Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, who are teaming up with Fife Council and OnFife to make the upgrades. The project will refurbish and enhance the dryside facilities, extend the gym space and create studio and flexible library spaces.

The outdoor Astroturf pitches will also be replaced with one larger synthetic pitch, and there will be more accessibility throughout the building. As part of the project, the town’s library will also move from the High Street into the centre.

Work to replace the sports hall floor was brought forward after it had previously been damaged by flooding.

The project will also sees the centre’s in-house nursery move out of the venue for up to 18 months with a temporary early year’s facility relocated next to the Maxwell Centre in Cowdenbeath.

A planning statement said the project would provide a “comprehensive refurbishment and enhancement” of the leisure centre.

It added: “An overview of the works include reconfiguration and refurbishments to dry side facilities to make it more inclusive and improve activity spaces to attract additional customers to the centre.

“The current wet side facilities will incorporate essential planned maintenance works to take advantage of the closure of the facility for the refurbishment.

“The project will also integrate Fife Cultural Trust (FCT) library services into the leisure centre by relocating the library services from the FCT operated facility based on the High Street.”

There are artist impressions of how the centre will look after the renovations are complete.

Scott Urquhart, head of operations at Fife Sports, and Leisure Trust, previously said: “Working together with Fife Council and Fife Cultural Trust, we’re excited to breathe new life into Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre.

“This project will create an integrated hub for leisure and culture. We’re thrilled to share these plans and look forward to making a positive impact on our community.”

Fife Sports and Leisure Trust operates Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre and there are around 150,000 visits to the venue each year. It will be closed for approximately 14 months.