We caught up with volunteer Emma Tudge to see what’s next for this important community asset in 2025. 

The town was left gobsmacked when it was announced that the leisure centre in Wadebridge had formally been included on a list of centres at risk of closure. At the time, many other leisure centres in Cornwall were facing the same fate. The list was drawn up based on a loss of money, low membership and the operator unable to continue running the centre as part of its contract.

“At that point, a group of us, rallied together by Amanda Pennington who was the mayor of Wadebridge at the time, gathered to pull together a case for the centre to remain open,” Emma said. 

The council refused a community asset transfer and instead went down a tender route, which meant the centre would be up for grabs. The group formed a Community Interest Company and started working on forming a sensible bid and business plan. 

Thankfully, around July 2022, the group was awarded the tender and work began to save Wadebridge’s leisure centre. They took on a 125-year lease on the building, and formed a charity, the Friends of Wadebridge Leisure Centre, in order to fundraise. Through a range of applications that Emma applied for, and charity fundraising initiatives, the team managed to raise a whopping £2-million towards the projects that needed to be undertaken to update the centre. 

In recent months, local retired teacher Carol Lobb joined the team to work on reception. She has also been working on recruiting volunteers to handle many aspects of the leisure centre, from working on smaller maintenance tasks, to providing an extra pair of hands on event days. Emma said: “This serves as an opportunity for people to give something back to their community, and offers the health benefits that come with volunteering.” 

In recent weeks, the team have been delighted to open up their brand new changing places facility in the pool area. This is a fully-equipped and accessible changing unit for anyone who is physically disabled and may need to use a hoist to get changed with the help of a carer, meaning the pool can be made available to everyone in the community. 

In addition, a new accessible shower and changing facility has been opened, and upgrades have been made to the pool area, including accessible steps and acoustic panels on the walls for anyone with hearing problems or sensitivities. As you enter the centre, the reception has a split height desk and is wheelchair accessible. The team is also working on raising money to install power assist doors throughout the building. 

One of the driving forces behind the efforts made to keep the leisure centre open is ensuring local children are able to learn the important life skills associated with swimming, plus creating an important space for the community. Emma said: “We discovered that there has been a 17% drop in the number of primary school leavers able to swim in Cornwall, which has been one of the key drivers for our work. As a coastal community, it’s even more important to know how to swim.

“Since moving to community ownership, the number of members has doubled, and we have many schools and sports clubs that rely on us. We are also a designated  Cornwall VSF community hub for Wadebridge; we offer classes such as balance ability sessions for those who are likely to have falls, and our cafe is used as a base for many classes and community activities. We also held a Wellbeing in Wadebridge Festival, the first of its kind for the town, last year, so that people could pop in and find out what’s available in Wadebridge. This is all at the core of what this leisure centre is about.”

For more information about Wadebridge Sports and Leisure Centre, visit https://www.wadebridgeslc.co.uk/