MALVERN Splash, the fitness and leisure centre in Priory Road, is having a £300,000 refurbishment of its gym and cycle studio.

Work will take place in two phases to allow gym facilities to remain open throughout and the refurb will be completely funded by Freedom Leisure, which operates the centre on behalf of Malvern Hills District Council.

The first phase – from July 27 to August 13 – will involve the refurbishment of half the existing gym area and construction of an interactive Myride indoor cycling studio. The second phase will start once the first phase is complete and involve the refurbishment of the other half of the gym, including the installation of state-of-the art Technogym kit and machines. Completion of the work is expected at the end of August 2015.

By organising the work in two phases, Freedom Leisure can ensure the provision of gym facilities throughout the project. The gym entrance will temporarily move to the existing fire exit. During the first phase of the work, there will be no indoor cycling classes so Freedom Leisure is providing additional group exercise sessions instead. All other classes will run as normal and the swimming pool area will be unaffected by the work.

Ian Bonsall, Freedom Leisure general manager, said: "I am excited by the prospect of a new gym and Myride indoor cycling studio as they will both bring greater scope and new exercise options to our members. We have planned the work to minimise disruption and enable continued access to the gym facilities through the refurbishment process. Meanwhile, people are very welcome to visit the site to see our plans and progress during opening hours.”

Mark Hammond, Malvern Hills District Council’s contracts and performance m. added: "I am delighted to see these ambitious plans for the gym refurbishment and new cycling studio being put into place and the investment by Freedom Leisure is very welcome at Malvern Splash. Part of our agreement with Freedom Leisure was to modernise key aspects of our sites to improve the facilities and this work is the next stage following recent energy improvement works.”

Freedom Leisure also plans to commence refurbishment of the gyms at Sport Dyson Perrins in Malvern and Sport Martley before the end of the summer.