Freedom Leisure and Ebbsfleet Garden City Trust have opened the £13 million Weldon Wellbeing Pavilion – a new community wellbeing and sports facility.

Weldon Wellbeing Pavilion offers a gym and group exercise studio, netball and tennis courts and a 3G pitch, alongside a versatile community hall, that will enhance opportunities for grassroots sport, physical activity and wellbeing initiatives within the growing Ebbsfleet Garden City community.

Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) worked alongside Redrow, Ebbsfleet Garden City Trust and Freedom Leisure to support delivery of the facility. Sara Waller, CEO of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation said: “Facilities like this matter because they turn new neighbourhoods into places where people can genuinely live well. That is what long-term placemaking is about, and it is what we are committed to delivering across Ebbsfleet.”

Ivan Horsfall Turner, CEO of charitable trust, Freedom Leisure, which will operate the Pavilion says: "At Freedom Leisure, we are passionate about creating opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to be active, improve their wellbeing and connect with others. This fantastic new facility provides a welcoming space where residents, schools, clubs and community groups can come together and we look forward to supporting the health and wellbeing of the Ebbsfleet community for many years to come."

FOOTNOTE

• Ebbsfleet is one of a number of healthy new towns being built in the UK. Find out more in HCM's sister magazine, CLADmag – here on desktop and here on mobile. NB, the UK government has reduced the original list of 12 new towns to seven, however, the principles remain the same. The locations are: Tempsford in Bedfordshire, Crews Hill and Chase Park in Enfield, Leeds South Bank in West Yorkshire, Victoria North in Greater Manchester, Thamesmead in Greenwich, Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc in South Gloucestershire and Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire

  Sites originally proposed in Plymouth, Adlington in Cheshire, Heyford Park in Oxfordshire, Marlcombe in East Devon and Worcestershire Parkway, Wychavon will not be developed into new towns, but may continue to get support through existing housing programmes.

• Somerset Council has recently awarded an interim two-year contract to Freedom Leisure to operate leisure centres in the East of Somerset – the Mendip area – after the previous operator, Fusion Lifestyle, went into administration. The new contract will run from 1 July 2026 for the following facilities:

3. Freedom Leisure has also been investing in solar energy as part of a decarbonisation and energy efficiency programme. It has recently invested in 600 solar PV panels for the LC Leisure Centre in Swansea  which will power everything from the showers, to the lighting and heat the swimming pool. SolarSense did the installation and the costs were covered with support from Sport Wales and Swansea Council.