Official Ground Breaking Ceremony

Councillors and officers from Surrey Heath Borough Council, the Places Leisure Camberley project team and representatives from the 8^th Camberley Scout Group gathered earlier this month to mark the official start of the construction of Camberley’s brand-new state-of-the-art leisure centre.

The Mayor of Surrey Heath, Cllr Robin Perry, performed the ceremonial ground breaking at the event to mark this milestone in the evolution of the centre, which is due to open in Summer 2021.

Leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council, Cllr Richard Brooks, said: “We are investing in our community and our future. Working in partnership with Places Leisure and Pellikaan Construction, we are excited to be creating a first-class leisure facility in Camberley that will promote physical activity and the importance of health and wellbeing. 

“We are pleased to see that work on site is progressing well. The new centre will be an inclusive community leisure hub for all to enjoy. We look forward to seeing our vision for the new centre being brought to life.”

Earlier this year, Places Leisure were awarded the 25-year Design, Build, Operate and Maintain Contract for the new Camberley leisure centre, along with their construction partners Pellikaan and architects Roberts Limbrick.

The £24m leisure centre will feature a 150-station fitness suite, 25 metre six lane pool, learner pool with adjustable floor, splash zone (interactive water confidence area), 8 court sports hall, group exercise studios, health suite and café. A vibrant Clip ‘n Climb™ arena and purpose-built adventure play area will also be featured to inspire more young people to be active for life. 

Dan Walker, Business Development Director at Places Leisure said, “We are delighted to announce that construction of the new Places Leisure Camberley is underway. In partnership with Surrey Heath Borough Council, we are looking forward to providing a fantastic new leisure centre full of innovative activities that we hope will capture the local community’s imagination.

“The new centre will also provide us with an opportunity to continue to develop our community partnerships that we have established over the last 35 years and build on the legacy of the Arena Leisure Centre. We hope to encourage even more people to enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle for many years to come.”

As part of the ground breaking ceremony, a time capsule was buried. Items gathered by the 8^th Camberley Scout Group for the capsule included handwritten letters from local Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, a selection of 2019 UK coins, and a collection of the Scout Group’s badges.