Sidcup Leisure Centre has been officially opened by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.
"It is always a great pleasure to see Boris in Bexley," said Bexley Cllr Teresa O'Neill. "Yesterday was the culmination of ten years of hard work to provide three new leisure centres in Bexley and I was very proud to show him how we have transformed the borough's leisure facilities."
Mayor Boris Johnson said: "There has never been a better time to promote sport provision in London and I am very happy to be officially opening the Sidcup Leisure Centre. It is important that everyone, especially young people, has access to good sports facilities and it is brilliant that the centre plans to share facilities with a local school during term time. We have a unique opportunity with the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to set in place a lasting legacy for sport provision across the capital and centres like this play a vitally important part."
Sidcup Leisure Centre is the final facility to be opened under a three-centre strategy, which has seen three old centres replaced with modern facilities, including swimming pools. The three-centre strategy was delivered through a Public Private Partnership between the London Borough of Bexley and Boxwood Leisure Ltd, a consortium led by Parkwood Project Management (now trading as Parkwood Consultancy Services) and is operated by Parkwood Leisure.
Sean Holt, Regional Director of Sport England London, said: "This is fantastic news for the people of Sidcup. Sport England is committed to creating a world leading sporting infrastructure and has invested £693,000 towards the Sidcup multi sports centre. By making sport convenient and giving people choice, they are more likely to enjoy taking part in sport. Given the mix of facilities on offer we anticipate this will help Sport England to achieve its objectives.”