A Sport England-funded Olympic legacy swimming pool takes centre stage at the newly-opened Royton Leisure Centre in Oldham.

Sport England awarded a grant of £134,000 the Olympic Facilities Legacy Fund for the construction of the new six-lane, 25m pool, which features the same design as one of the Olympic training pools. To monitor usage of the pool and maximise uptake, Gladstone is supplying a range of software solutions including a specially developed access control system, which allows specific facility usage to be collected via a touchscreen at turnstiles.

“The pool at Royton Leisure Centre will ensure that the legacy of London 2012 continues to thrive in Oldham,” said Charles Johnston, property director at Sport England.

“Legacy pools have the potential to benefit thousands of people and I am really pleased that the local community in Royton and surrounding areas will be able to benefit from this innovative scheme.”

The pool is part of the new £8m centre, which was funded by Oldham Council and will be run by Oldham Community Leisure. Willmott Dixon led construction of the project, working to plans from GT Architects.

Away from the pool, the gym contains 80-stations of Technogym kit, spanning CV, strength and functional equipment, in addition to two exercise/dance studios.

“The new Royton Leisure Centre will become a central hub for adults and children of all ages and abilities, providing a better and more tailored offering than ever before,” said OCL chief executive Stuart Lockwood.

“Our team, in partnership with Oldham Council have worked extremely hard over the last few years to bring this project to life, and it’s very rewarding to see the facility complete.