England goalie opens new sports centre at Weston-super-Mare

The official opening of the new community sports and day services facilities on the Worle Community School site in Weston-super-Mare is in safe hands.

England women's goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain will join North Somerset Council chairman Terry Porter, at the opening on Friday, January 25. 

The council's £2.7m project, known as @Worle, combines community sports facilities with day services for people with learning disabilities provided by the Brandon Trust on behalf of the council.

The facilities include:

• fitness suite
• dance studio
• 3G full-size football artificial turf pitch with floodlighting
• a sand-based artificial turf pitch for hockey
• multi-purpose rooms
• café
• kitchen
• indoor and outdoor changing facilities
• fully accessible toilet/changing facility.

Banwell Pottery, also run by Brandon Trust, and the council's community meals service have also relocated to the new building.

The fitness gym, dance studio and café are available for use by the community during the daytime, evenings and weekends. 

The artificial turf pitches and the multi-purpose rooms are also available, evenings and weekends.

The building work, carried out by Willmott Dixon, started in April last year and was completed on time and on budget in December.

The facility opened to the public earlier this month and is already being well used with more than 100 members of the fitness gym and more than 20 teams/clubs using the 3G artificial turf pitch.

At Friday's opening the facilities will be handed over to the @Worle trust, a not-for-profit organisation who will take over the management of @Worle. 

The trust is currently made up of representatives of Worle School, North Somerset Council, the Brandon Trust and the Somerset County Football Association.

The trust has already applied to Sport England's Inspired Facilities Fund for funding to provide four floodlit netball/tennis courts behind the new building.

North Somerset Council executive member for community services  Felicity Baker said: "This innovative approach to providing much-needed community facilities shows how services can continue to be delivered and improved at a time of huge financial challenge for the council."