THE new Sedbergh Leisure Centre attracted more than double the amount of gym members compared to its predecessor, Bradford Council has revealed.

The leisure centre on Cleckheaton Road, Low Moor, opened last November, replacing the nearby Richard Dunn Centre.

The Council says the facility has proved “very successful”, not only attracting large numbers of gym users, but generating much more income that Richard Dunn and Queensbury Pool combined did the previous year.

The new £17.5 million centre was part of a controversial shake up of leisure facilities in the district that would see some pools, such as the one in Queensbury, closed.

GALLERY: £17.5m Sedbergh Leisure Centre almost ready to open its doors to the public

When Sedbergh opened, Bradford Council hoped it would increase the numbers of people using Council run facilities, and attract people who were put of by the ageing facilities at the Richard Dunn Centre.

It included a large gym area with state of the art equipment, and several studios that would provide a variety of different classes.

Despite the new facilities, many people who had grown up with the Richard Dunn Centre bemoaned the lack of slides in the new centre’s pool, which was much more traditional.

Many contacted the Telegraph & Argus to say they would not use the new centre.

In March local Councillor David Warburton (Lab, Wyke) asked Council leaders if the centre had been successful in attracting new users to the facilities and signing up new memberships.

His question was one of several dozen that were due to be answered at a meeting of Bradford Council that month.

However, the meeting was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the responses to Councillors’ questions have only recently been released.

The response to the question about Sedbergh said: “The new Sedbergh Sports and Leisure Centre is proving very successful.

“Since opening we have seen gym memberships rise from 1,700 to approx. 3,700.

“In the period November 16 2019 – February 29 2020 Sedbergh generated an additional £30,000 compared to both Richard Dunn and Queensbury put together in the same period in the 2018-19 financial year.”

Since the question was asked, all leisure centres have been closed because of lockdown and the Richard Dunn centre, which was due to be demolished this Summer, is now on standby as a temporary morgue.