New Redcar leisure centre: Staff begin filling pool at £31m centre in heart of town

Pictures: It will take four days to fill with water the pool in the £31m Leisure and Community Heart in Redcar town centre

Contractors building Redcar’s new leisure centre have taken the plunge and begun filling the pool with water.

The 25m, six-lane pool holds 487,000 litres of water and has been finished with 21,950 individual tiles.

And yesterday, the first of those 487,000 litres began to be pumped in.

The pool is being filled slowly over four days to prevent any cracks in the concrete base.

The water will then be heated to 29C before chemical filtration is added.

The learner pool - which has a movable floor that can take the bottom from floor level down to a 2m deep pool - will take three days to fill after the main pool.

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Gallery: Inside the £31m Redcar Leisure and Community Heart

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Council leader Councillor George Dunning said: “Now the pool is being filled, it brings it home that it is only a matter of weeks before we open the doors of this eagerly anticipated facility to the public.

"All of the work has been carried out to the highest standards and looks fantastic.”

The new £31m Leisure and Community Heart, in Ridley Street, is due to open on Saturday, April 26 , with a day of free activities, including demonstrations by European FlowRiding champion Quincy Viljtig and the chance to swim with Olympic athletes in an “Oceans of Fun” event.

Those wishing to take part must be aged eight or over and be able to swim 25m unaided.

Pre-register by calling Redcar Leisure Centre on 01642 480636.

Meanwhile, contractor Willmott Dixon Construction has won a Gold Award at the Considerate Constructors Scheme’s 2014 national site awards.

The awards recognise levels of consideration and care shown by construction sites towards their neighbourhood, workforce, the public and the environment.

Construction manager Glyn Jones said: “We have worked very closely with the community while building this facility.

"We’ve employed more than 20 apprentices, and over 40% of the labour lives within 10 miles of the site.”