See inside Kent's new multi-million pound leisure centre which is set to open next month

A popular swimming pool and leisure centre in Kent is getting set to open its doors after a multi-million pound revamp. The Cozenton Park Sports Centre, formerly Splashes in Medway, will open its doors to the general public on July 17.

Featuring a lane pool, wave machine, flume, and beach area, as well as a top-of-the-range gym with high-tech equipment, the £23.65m centre is already open to premier members and guided tours before the full opening next month. Premier members can now use the lane pool, gym, and fitness classes but the whole facility will be open to everyone next month.

The centre has been particularly designed to emphasise accessibility and sustainability as the site features specialised changing rooms for disabled users and two lifts for entering the pool in a wheelchair – and the heating for the pool is all generated via solar panels on the roof. The gym also features high-tech equipment activated by member wristbands so users can track their workouts, get tips on how to achieve their goals, and can even use a machine to calculate the make-up of their bodies.

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The council was criticised for what were seen to be prices too high for the average family, but the council says the fees are fair for what the facility provides. Adam Bryan, Medway Council’s director of place, encouraged residents to visit the centre, saying it had been specifically designed to be accessible to everyone.

He said: “This is a brand new all-inclusive sports centre for Medway with a 25-metre swimming pool, a fun pool, a gym upstairs, a fully sustainable, accessible centre which we’re really proud of. Building a brand new state of the art facility gives us the opportunity to get it exactly right, making sure it’s fully accessible with the two lifts into the two pools and the changing rooms as well, and of course making it sustainable, solar panels on the roof, the heat pumps, it’s a truly fit-for-purpose modern building.

“We think that £40 a month premium membership does offer good value, but of course we also offer free sports for families, a better Medway programme for example is a good opportunity for families to use who might not want to be able to take up premium membership.”

A premier membership for the sports centre costs £39.95 per month, a family membership (two adults and two children or one adult and three children) costs £81.25 per month, and a gym and swim membership costs £37.95. Some discounts are available but some criticised the cost of Fun Splash, which is £12.50 for adults, £10.35 for under 16s and over 60s, and £10.10 for people with disablities.

A family ticket – consisting of a family-of-four, two parents and two children – will set people back £45.70. The site also features meeting rooms and has the capacity to host children’s birthday parties in the studio spaces.

The pools can host a total of 156 people at one time across all three sections and the gym currently can have 40 users at once, but this may be adjusted depending on the reality of customers when the site opens. Staff say 10 primary schools nearby have already signed up to use the new facility for swimming lessons in September.

The leisure centre began construction in March 2023 after the demolition of the Splashes centre in 2022 because the building was found to have major faults which were beyond repair. Splashes originally opened in 1990, but following the first Covid lockdown did not reopen.

If you’d like to book a tour, purchase a membership, or find out more about the centre, visit medway.gov.uk/cozentonpark. All facilities at the centre will be open from July 17 to the general public.