A BIGGER cafe is one one of the key changes which will occur when Stroud District Council takes over Stratford Park Leisure Centre next month. 

The move - beginning on Friday, November 1 - will see a £2.7million investment into the site with a five-year repair programme to improve the 1975 centre.

Initially the funding will pay for brickwork repairs, roofing, decoration, doors, flooring, air conditioning upgrades, lighting, and the external toilet block at the leisure centre.

However, when the centre reopens it doors on Saturday, November 9 one of the big changes will be a new cafe.

Alongside a new look, it will have a new menu packed with healthy, locally sourced food.

Homemade cakes and treats will also be on offer alongside barista-style coffees and a range of teas.

Head of community services, Angela Gillingham says officers are working hard to provide the best possible service.

She said: “We want a leisure service for everyone living in our district and we have thought long and hard about what we want to provide.

"We think this is an exciting first step on a whole new offering for our district.

"“Our customers at our Dursley centre give us such glowing feedback and we now want to bring those standards to the Stroud centre.”

Changes to the service include members being able to use facilities at both centres as part of their membership.

Community Services and Licensing Committee Chair Beki Aldam said the changes are a long-time coming: “These plans have been carefully drawn up to make sure that people living in one part of our district received the same great services as people living in other parts.

"If you live in the Dursley area but work in Stroud, you now have the option where you use the gym, pool or take a class.

“This is just the first phase in an ambitious programme, and we can’t wait to hear what is next.”

The investment also includes work on the 88-year-old Lido at Stratford Park including repairing the Lido ‘tank’ and replacing the pumps and plant.

It is also planned to use excess energy from the newly installed leisure centre air source heat pump system to increase the Lido temperature by an estimated three to five degrees centigrade.