The Cath Thom Leisure Centre.

Alliance Leisure’s experience and hands-on approach helped us deliver the project to a high standard. Their experience during a difficult period in the early construction was invaluable. With support from Sport England and other partners, we’ve created a fantastic, accessible, low carbon leisure facility which will provide opportunities for sport and physical activity for generations to come.

Cllr Munsif Dad

Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council

Background
Site Specifications
Sustainability
Impact

Funded by the Council and Sport England, The Cath Thom Leisure Centre has been a real success story for Hyndburn Council.

Named in honour of Cath Thom, the late Councillor for Clayton-Le-Moors, Mayor of Hyndburn and Honorary Alderman, the circa £13 million scheme offers economical, inclusive, and sustainable facilities built to support the local community.

The project faced a setback following the collapse of the original contractor, ISG. Works restarted in January 2025 after the appointment of Universal Civils and Build under the UK Leisure Framework, allowing the development to complete in line with the original scope, specification and quality standards.

The project follows decarbonisation and energy efficiency works at Hyndburn Leisure Centre in addition to the refurbishment of the centre’s 3G pitch and LED lighting.

Set within Wilson Sports Village alongside woodland paths, a running track and outdoor pitches, facilities at the centre include a 25m swimming pool, fitness suite, multi-purpose studio, sauna and steam room, café, changing village and external changing facilities for outdoor sports users.

Accessibility:

The single-storey building is fully accessible with wide corridors and doors. Other features include dedicated accessible showers, toilets and changing facilities as well as a fully equipped Changing Places room for those who need extra space and support. The centre has also made provision for accessible parking spaces and ramps.

The swimming pool is equipped with a platform lift system offering a safe and independent entry experience, while blinds installed between the café and pool area give users the option of privacy when using the pool.

The centre also has clear signage with added symbols and Braille.

The all-electric leisure centre achieved an impressive A-rated energy efficiency.

The centre’s fossil fuel-free heating, cooling and hot water systems are powered by energy-efficient technologies and supported by solar panels, dramatically reducing the building’s carbon footprint. These measures reduce carbon emissions and running costs, supporting the Council’s ambition to achieve net-zero carbon activities by 2030.

The centre had a fantastic opening few months with a range of new activities and participants. A variety of clubs and the local park run are already making full use of the centre and wider sports village.

In just one week the first 200 special-rate memberships sold out and 1371 swimmers also attended in just one week.

The launch campaign successfully positioned Wilsons Sports Village as a vibrant, inclusive destination, driving strong early engagement across memberships, activities and bookings:

Achieved over 1,900 memberships by March 2026
95% Learn to Swim occupancy
100% Group Exercise occupancy

Client: Hynburn Borough Council

Partners: Sport England, Universal Civils, CGP MEP, Pozzoni Architecture, Bradshaw Gass and Hope LLP, Axiom Project Services, TClarke UK North, Max Associates, UK Leisure Framework (managed by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd)

Project Value: £13m

Opened: October 2025

View Video & Gallery

From the outset, you brought together a strong team of experts and partners whose professionalism, collaboration and attention to detail have produced a truly special facility for our Borough. Thank you for your leadership, your problem-solving throughout the more challenging moments, and the positive, can-do culture your team brought to every stage. We are confident that The Cath Thom Leisure Centre will act as a catalyst for increased participation in physical activity across Hyndburn for many years to come.

Ciaran Wells & Lyndsey Sims

Chair of the Board & Chief Executive, Hyndburn Leisure

We are incredibly proud to be delivering our sixth project with Hyndburn Borough Council, and this one feels particularly special. The Cath Thom Leisure Centre will make a real difference to people’s lives, creating opportunities for the community to be active, to connect and to thrive together. This journey hasn’t been without its challenges, but the determination and vision shown by the Council has been inspiring. We are delighted to play our part in bringing this landmark facility to life, and we can’t wait to see the positive impact it will have for future generations.

Tom Gardner

Business Development Manager, Alliance Leisure

Video & Gallery.

Insight & Engagement.

Working closely with the council, our Insight and Engagement team supported with the launch of the new Cath Thom Leisure Centre.

The launch story focused on removing barriers to participation and framing The Cath Thom Leisure Centre as a place for everyone – from first-time exercisers and families, to clubs, casual users and committed members.

The creative platform “Something for Everyone” allowed us to showcase the breadth of the offer while keeping the message simple, inclusive and highly relatable.

Inclusive, non-intimidating messaging
Community-led positioning
Clear articulation of facilities & benefits
Balance of aspiration and accessibility

The campaign was delivered through a fully integrated marketing approach designed to maximise reach locally while reinforcing consistent messaging across all touchpoints.

Digital & Paid Media:

Meta (Facebook & Instagram) launch ads
Google Search to capture intent-led demand
Video content highlighting facilities and atmosphere

On-site & Community:

In-centre launch branding
Timetable-led promotion to drive centre visits & trial
Community-facing messaging for families, clubs and casual users

As part of the launch package we also offered to re-design the existing app.

The launch campaign successfully positioned Wilsons Sports Village as a vibrant, inclusive destination, driving strong early engagement across memberships, activities and bookings.

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