£71,736 investment set to expand health and fitness facilities at Bude Leisure Centre

Bude Leisure Centre is set to benefit from a £71,736 investment to create a new outdoor functional fitness facility, providing additional space, equipment and opportunities for the local community to get active.

The proposed development will transform an underused outdoor patio area between the swimming pool and existing gym extension into a dedicated outdoor training space of approximately 111 square metres.

The investment comes in response to significant growth in the popularity of Bude Leisure Centre’s health and fitness facilities.

Following a £1.1 million investment in 2019, which created a 260-square-metre gym, a 120-square-metre studio and new changing facilities, health and fitness membership has grown from approximately 400 to 1,200 members.

Membership has increased by 42% in the last two and a half years alone, while health and fitness visits increased by 18% during the first seven months of 2026 – representing approximately 7,600 additional visits.

The success has created increasing pressure on the existing facilities, particularly during peak periods. Classes regularly operate at 90% capacity or above, while customer feedback has highlighted congestion within the gym and demand for a wider range of activities.

The new development has been designed to directly address these issues.

The outdoor functional fitness area will feature 15 training stations, including a weatherproof training rig, sled track, SkiErgs, punch bag and kettlebells.

Specialist artificial turf, drainage, external lighting, secure fencing and equipment storage will also be installed, with direct access created from the existing gym corridor.

Creating the additional space will also allow the centre to improve the layout of its existing indoor free-weights area, helping reduce congestion and creating a better overall experience for customers.

The development will provide much more than additional equipment.

Classes including circuits, HIIT, conditioning and functional fitness will be able to take place outdoors, freeing up valuable studio space and allowing Bude Leisure Centre to expand its group exercise programme.

An additional 10 hours of fitness instructor cover each week is also planned to support customers using the new facility and enable the centre to deliver more instructor-led sessions.

The project will be fully funded by Cornwall Council through its prudential borrowing capability, with GLL managing the procurement and delivery of the scheme on the Council’s behalf.

Following a competitive tender process, Jewell Construction has been selected to undertake the building works, with Physical Company supplying the functional fitness equipment and More Creative delivering the branding.

The development is expected to support continued growth at the centre, with forecasts identifying the potential for around 180 additional health and fitness members within three years.

It is also anticipated that the facility could generate between 10,000 and 12,000 additional health and fitness visits each year once established.

Alongside the increased participation, the project aims to build on the significant social value already generated by Bude Leisure Centre. The centre delivered an estimated £1.456 million of social value during 2025, with the ambition for the expanded facilities and programmes to help increase annual social value beyond £2 million.

The investment is particularly significant for Bude and the surrounding communities. The centre serves an immediate population of approximately 11,000 people, with a further 8,800 living within a 17-minute drive, while the population increases considerably during Bude’s busy summer tourist season.

The new facility will be designed to offer an inclusive and accessible environment, with opportunities to develop activities for young people, families, older adults and people who currently experience barriers to taking part in physical activity.

Rob Francis, General Manager for Bude Leisure Centre said:

“This is a really exciting development for Bude Leisure Centre and, most importantly, for the community we serve.

“Our health and fitness membership has grown enormously and we are incredibly proud that so many local people are choosing Bude Leisure Centre to be active, improve their health and spend time with us.

“That success does, however, mean we need to continue developing our facilities. Our customers have told us that the gym can become busy at peak times and that they would like an even greater range of classes and activities. This investment responds directly to that feedback.

“The new outdoor functional fitness area will give us much-needed additional space, provide a completely different training environment and allow us to expand the activities we can offer.

“Bude is a community that embraces outdoor activity, health and wellbeing, so we believe this facility will be a fantastic fit for the town.

“We want Bude Leisure Centre to continue being a facility the community can be proud of, and this investment represents another important step in its development.”

The centre’s latest Annual User Survey recorded a Net Promoter Score of +38 and an overall customer experience score of 4.1, while also identifying the range of activities and pressure on existing health and fitness space as areas for further development.

The new facility is designed to respond directly to that feedback while strengthening Bude Leisure Centre’s position as a leading health and fitness facility for the town and surrounding area.

Subject to final approval, construction is planned for late October and early November 2026, with equipment and branding scheduled to be installed later in November.

Subject to weather conditions and material availability, the new outdoor fitness facility is expected to be operational by the end of November 2026, ahead of an enhanced activity programme and formal launch in January 2027.