Work has officially started on Waltham Abbey’s new state of the art leisure facility.

Schoolchildren, councillors and local business leader were invited to a special event last Thursday when workers broke ground at the site in Hill House Road, Waltham Abbey.

The new £9.5m leisure centre has been designed with a green roof to complement the surrounding recreational ground and due to be completed by 2018

It will feature an 80-station fitness suite, a 25 metre, six-lane pool, a 15m learner pool, an exercise and group cycling studio, a community room, and a café.

Epping Forest Council has awarded Places for People Leisure a 20-year “design, build, operate and maintain” contract for the new centre, which will be built by Pellikaan Construction.

Epping Forest Guardian:

The new centre is due to open in 2018

Cllr Helen Kane, council cabinet member for leisure, said: “The leisure centre will be for everyone.

“Working with Places for People and their construction partners Pellikaan, we are set to deliver a top class leisure facility that will promote health and wellbeing, and provide a place for people to enjoy physical activity and socialise within the community.”

Also in attendance for the project launch were pupils from Hillhouse CofE Primary School and members of Epping Forest District Swimming Club who buried a time capsule.

The current Waltham Abbey Swimming Pool will remain open and fully operational until the new centre opens.