Work will shortly begin on refurbishing the sports hall and the ice rink at Riverside. This will include new lighting, redecorations, upgraded changing facilities, new ice rink glass barriers, a brand new semi sprung floor and new dividing curtains in the sports hall as well as number of other improvements. In addition, important work will also start to link the new buildings with the existing sports hall and ice rink.
So that this next phase of work can be undertaken, the Sports Hall and Studio One will close from 22 October and the Ice Rink from 29 October. Both will remain closed until the new centre opens in Spring 2019. The parking spaces beneath the building undercroft will be closed from 23 October until late January. During this period leisure centre customers will be able to park at Waterloo Lane car park 3 which has been especially allocated for their use as well as elsewhere. From 5 November the whole centre will be temporarily closed for one week to divert power supplies and modify service connections between buildings.
In the spring of 2019, the brand new Riverside Leisure Centre will open with modern facilities including a state of the art 10 lane 25m pool, 2 large studios, spin studio, river front café, sports hall, ice rink, soft play, creche, treatment rooms and brand new 120-station gym equipment.
Councillor Julia Jeapes, Cabinet Member for Leisure, said, "I would like to thank residents once again for their continued support and patience during the extensive construction work. Work on the exciting new facilities is progressing well and we have managed to remain open during most of the construction period, keeping as many facilities available as possible. This is no mean feat in such a complex, constrained location.
I apologise to all our customers and neighbours for any inconvenience that these final phases of the project might cause. We cannot wait to see the new centre open which will provide a fantastic new leisure facility for everyone to enjoy."
What is happening and when?
From Monday 22 October
The sports hall will close until Spring 2019 for major upgrades and improvements. Studio 1 will also close and new bigger studios will form part of the new building.
How will this affect customers?
When the sports hall and Studio 1 close from 22 October there will be changes to the class timetable. To minimise the impact on activities, studio 1 classes will be moved to Studios 2 and 3 and sports hall bookings will be redirected to our other centres; South Woodham Ferrers Leisure Centre, Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre or Dovedale Sports Centre. Class timetables for the alternative studio locations are at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/riversideclasses.
From Tuesday 23 October
The Undercroft car park closes until late January 2019.
How will this affect customers?
Waterloo Lane car park 3 will be allocated for all Leisure Centre customer parking at peak times. Non-Leisure Card holders can also use this car park (or other Chelmsford City Council car parks) but will not get a refund
Monthly members will also be able to use Meadows Retail Multi-Storey car park for 3 hours free, using their existing pink permit.
Leisure Centre customers can continue to park at Waterloo Lane 1, 2 & 3 car parks.
From Monday 29 October
The Ice Rink closes for refurbishment until Spring 2019.
How will this affect customers?
While the ice rink at Riverside is closed, there are other alternative centres where customers can ice-skate in Essex and London such as Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre Romford (RM1 3JT), Lee Valley Ice Centre (E10 7QL) and Alexander Palace (N22 7AY). A number of clubs and ice skating professionals that normally attend Riverside Ice Rink have made specific arrangements to operate at these alternative rinks.
During the closure, Skate School members will have their Direct Debit payments temporarily stopped until the new centre opens. All members who have their Direct Debits stopped during this time are guaranteed a space when the new centre opens again and will be notified again before their first payment is taken. Any active patch books will be refunded as of 29 October.
From Monday 5 November
The entire centre will be temporarily closed for 7 days until Monday 12 November. Alternatively, customers can use our three other leisure centres; South Woodham Ferrers Leisure Centre, Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre or Dovedale Sports Centre.
The gym, sports halls, exercise classes and outside courts/track will available to use at these centres.
Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre will be opening earlier during this week (from 6am Monday - Saturday) and will be running additional classes.
For anyone wishing to use a pool during this time, South Woodham Ferrers Leisure Centre has a 25m deck level pool for customers to use.
From Monday 12 November
Riverside Leisure Centre pools, gym, classes, creche and soft play and studios 2 and 3 will reopen for business.
For FAQ's and further information on how the closures will affect customers visit, http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/riversidedevelopment.
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