The popular leisure pool at Stourbridge’s Crystal Leisure Centre re-open’s today following eye-catching improvement works.

The slides in the leisure pool, a popular draw for youngsters, have undergone a tropical revamp – with a talented local artist painting fish and other sea creatures along the inside.

It will create an effect of appearing like the fish are swimming when water is flowing through them again. The popular wave machine has also been totally refurbished.

The changing rooms have been demolished and completely remodelled, with both the leisure pool and the 25m pool drained, repaired, cleaned and refilled.

Leisure centre bosses have warned people that with the capacity reduced to help prevent the spread of Covid, there is likely to be high demand and that waiting times outside to get in are likely to be lengthy. There will be no pre-booking available, with people admitted on a first come first served basis.

The leisure pool will be opening for family swimming from 9am to 12.30pm (last ticket 11.15am) and public swimming from 1.30pm to 5pm (last ticket 3.45pm) on every day except Friday.

On Fridays there will be family swimming from 9am to 1pm (last ticket 11.45am) and a family fun disability session from 2pm to 4pm.

The re-opening comes as improvement works are also continuing at Halesowen Leisure Centre, and a new £18m leisure centre is set to open in Dudley town centre next year. Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member responsible for leisure centres, said:

“It’s fantastic that we are able to re-open the leisure pool for youngsters to enjoy free swimming over the school summer holidays.

“It is always a big draw for families so I would ask people to be patient and understanding with staff who will be doing their best to get everyone in as quickly and as safely as possible.

“The reality is we have had big queues for free swimming there in the past and this is likely to be exacerbated as people come to see the improvements to the pool and to the changing rooms.

”I would also like to remind people that free parking is only available on both council-owned and the Tesco car parks for two hours – we don’t want anyone coming away from the centre to find an unwanted parking ticket on their cars.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the work they have done at Crystal and I am sure everyone who visits will agree. With improvements also ongoing at Halesowen Leisure Centre, and work progressing really quickly on the new centre in Dudley, we are overseeing the biggest spend on leisure services in decades.”

Halesowen is in-line for a new look entrance, adventure play area and café. There will also be major changes to the swimming pool to cater for learner and advanced swimmers. The plans also include new ‘village style’ changing rooms, pool-side viewing area and a state-of-the-art fitness suite.

And work is well underway on the new £18.2 million Duncan Edwards Leisure centre in Dudley. The council has agreed to fund photovoltaic panels on the roof that will make the new leisure centre one of the most energy efficient around.

The plans are part of a wider major regeneration programme bringing over £1 billion investment to the town centre. The new leisure centre will benefit from excellent public transport links through the forthcoming adjacent Metro stop and the nearby bus Interchange.

The new facility will include a 25 metre, eight-lane swimming pool and a teaching pool with spectator provision. There will be a four-court sports hall suitable for indoor football, badminton and more.

The investment will also include a 100-station gym and fitness suite, two group exercise studios for a wide range of exercise classes and an immersive cycle studio, a first for the Black Country.

For families with younger children there will be a soft play area with catering facilities and a party room, and a café open to all users of the centre. And for those who want to relax after their workout session there’s set to be a sauna.

There will also be power-assisted gym equipment for specialist support which may be particularly beneficial for those recovering from injury, older customers and those living with long-term health conditions.