Last month, the government announced more than £300 million will be injected into leisure and wellbeing developments, thanks to a number of successful Levelling Up Fund (LUF) bids. The investment allocation is part of a total £2.1 billion round two ‘levelling up’ investment fund introduced to help tackle regional inequalities.

Paul Cluett, MD at leisure development specialists Alliance Leisure, commented, “This news is most welcome. Still too much of the UK's leisure stock is tired and struggling to meet the modern needs of the communities it serves. This funding will unlock opportunities for those councils who submitted successful bids to develop new active environment in tune with modern day community needs. This will help to deliver against much wider objectives such as creating more active populations through better engagement with disengaged groups, tackling health inequalities and promoting community cohesion. £300 million is an encouraging step in the right direction, but we know more investment is needed to maintain sustainable public sector provision. It is also encouraging to hear that the government intends this round of investment to be followed by a third round.”

One of the projects to benefit from round 2 of LUF is the building of a new wellbeing hub in Caerphilly, Wales, courtesy of a successful bid to the tune of £20 million by Caerphilly County Borough Council supported by Alliance Leisure and Mutual Ventures.  The new facility, to be located in the heart of Caerphilly, will become the flagship leisure and wellbeing hub for the whole county borough. This project is due to be delivered by Alliance Leisure, with ISG named as the principal construction partner, Watson Batty as architects and Hadron Consulting taking care of project management, and is expected to complete by March 2025.

Alliance Leisure are already involved in the delivery of several other leisure projects made possible by the first round of LUF, including Clay Cross Active, a £24m new-build development on behalf of North East Derbyshire District Council, and Mablethorpe Leisure and Learning Hub which is in construction and due to open in the summer of 2024.  Find out more about Alliance Leisure’s projects here.