New memberships still frozen at Aspire@ThePark in Pontefract

The new leisure centre opened for the first time last year.

Aspire@ThePark in Pontefract has been overwhelmed with demand since opening its doors to the public last spring.

Wakefield Council, which runs the £20m facility, said last month it had had to put a temporary block on new members, for the benefit of people are who already signed up.

The ban remains in place, although the local authority said on Monday it wanted it to be lifted as soon as possible.

A 10-lane swimming pool is among the centre's most impressive features, but new members are still blocked from signing up.

Speaking on an online Q&A session, the council's corporate director for regeneration, Mark Lynam said: "Aspire@ThePark has been a victim of its own success, in that it's a first-class facility and that's meant huge demand, particularly over the last few months.

"As we've started to come out of Covid to some degree people have felt more confident about coming back to our leisure facilities.

"But we've had to maintain a certain degree of social distancing, so some of the gym equipment has had to be spread out and we've had less equipment in there than we'd have liked as a result."

Mr Lynam said that that issue particularly had forced Aspire bosses to limit the number of visitors.

He added: "The team is trying to work through this at the moment, to reopen memberships so that people can use it, particularly people in Pontefract.

"But we're seeing a lot of demand from people all over the district."

Among the leisure centre's features are outdoor tennis courts, a 4G football pitch, a 10-lane swimming pool and an interactive climbing wall.

Before the freeze, adult memberships at Aspire@ThePark were being charged at £25 a month, or £275 a year.

Local Democracy Reporting Service