NEWS ASA REBRANDS AS SWIM ENGLAND AND ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGY The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) has been rebranded as Swim England a move which coincides with the launch of a new four-year strategy aimed at helping the country become healthy and active through swimming. Jane Nickerson, who was confirmed as Swim England’s CEO at the end of March said: “Our vision is a nation swimming and our strategy sets out how we will bring together organisations from across the swimming, health and physical activity sectors to work towards this. “Leadership and supporting our partners is a key part of our strategy and as such, we have changed from a local delivery organisation to one that is more strategically-focused. “As well as supporting our members and all those who swim regularly, our role is to share our research and insight and bring new partners together to help make swimming a popular activity in every community.”

PLANS SUBMITTED FOR NEW STONE LEISURE CENTRE Plans for a new £5.2m leisure centre in the market town of Stone in Staffordshire have been submitted to the local council. The proposals were submitted following feedback from questionnaires and consultation days and plans include a six lane, 25m swimming pool and a health club. If approved, the new centre would see the town’s public swimming and fitness facilities placed together under one roof. The existing council run swimming pool in Stone is currently based at an Academy and is used by the school under a shared agreement with the local authority. The Stone Leisure Centre project is at the heart of a £9.5m plan for improving the Staffordshire town’s leisure provision.

www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 15_SPN_June_17_News_General.indd 15

Hart Leisure Centre Opens Its Doors Hart Leisure Centre, a flagship leisure facility in Fleet, Hampshire has been opened by Hart District Council and FT Leisure is pleased to have been a key contributor to the project. Working closely with main contractor Willmott Dixon, FT Leisure were responsible for the design of the 25m, eight lane competition pool, separate 25m intermediate pool and learner pool, with toddler splash area. FT Leisure’s services included the design, supply, installation and commissioning of three separate water treatment and filtration systems, a 25m moveable floor system in the intermediate pool, disabled access platforms, water features in the toddler splash pool and various other pool accessories and equipment. This project enabled FT Leisure to demonstrate their full portfolio of products and services, with great success. In addition to two 25-metre pools, a learner and a

fun pool, facilities at the new centre also include a fitness centre, climbing wall, dance studios, sports pitches and large sports hall. Designed by GT3 Architects, the state-of-the-art leisure centre is situated adjacent to a country park and its aesthetics and construction are sensitive to its surroundings, with an energy efficient roof and sustainable timbers used. The centre was opened for public use in April 2017 and has quickly become a vital resource for the local community and wider area. FT Leisure has recently secured their 20th new build project for Willmott Dixon Construction who are considered to be one of the construction leaders in the leisure sector. FT Leisure 0161 494 5785 www.ftleisure.co.uk

New AstralPool Website Launched For The Public And Professionals A new website has been launched by AstralPool which features a more intuitive design for individuals and professionals to find the information they need easily. Whether it’s someone who wants a pool built or a sector professional, visitors to www. astralpool.com will be able to find quality information on the new multilingual site. The brand has done a through job of revamping its previous offering and has greatly improved information flow with the new site covering the needs of customers and end users. Among the most significant features of the new AstralPool website is

the integration of the product database which lets the public consult the technical features of a product and the sales outlets where they can find it, seek additional information and share the file on social networks. The new site maintains the division between individuals and professionals, simplifying the menu structure so that users can find information fast. Three sections have been enabled for

end users to settle concerns by phases: pool construction, maintenance or improvement, and they are invited to contact accredited professionals. In terms of improvements for professional customers, there is a spare parts website (accessible at http://spareparts. astralpool.com) which takes browsers only five seconds to find the part they need. Off- and online purchasing points have also been added. The new AstralPool website is characterised by its functionality, which quickly connects individual customers with professional teams to deliver on their needs.

SPN June 2017 15 27/05/2017 12:59