Free offer to use Aquasplash facilities this weekend

AN opportunity to sample the Aquasplash, Minehead, leisure pool’s newly refurbished facilities free of charge is being offered to residents and visitors at the weekend.
People can try out the facilities between 11 am and 3pm on Saturday, May 5, without having to pay.
The centre’s health complex has recently undergone a £30,000 refurbishment, while the pool area will be hosting live music from 'Strawberry Jam', a bouncy castle, and Quaywest fm will broadcast live from the event.
Aquasplash operations manager Paul Morgan said: “Sports enthusiasts and amateurs are welcome to sample some of the new equipment, such as X bikes which, unlike usual ‘'fixed’ exercise bikes, offer a full body workout while cyclists watch the ‘route’ they take on a television screen.”
The swimming pool with its new inflatable, 'Big Blue', will also be open, and there will be gym workouts, demonstrations, and competitions, while the health suite will be open to people aged 16 years and older.
More information is available by telephoning Aquasplash on 01643 708000.
Photo submitted.

'Big Blue' wins Matthew a year 's free swimming in Aquasplash

SCHOOLBOY Matthew Legg, aged nine, has won a year’s free junior membership to the Aquasplash leisure pool in Minehead.
The prize was given for choosing the best name for the pool’s new inflatable attraction in a competition run during the February half-term holiday.
Matthew, who is a pupil in Minehead First School, named the challenging new fun inflatable ‘Big Blue’.
He was presented with his membership by Aquasplash operations manager Paul Morgan, and said: “It is great to win. I am going to get really fit now.”
Mr Morgan said: “There were a lot of good entries, so we listed the suggestions and kept the names secret so that the winner could be fairly selected.
“We are delighted with the name and look forward to welcoming Matthew as a regular to the pool.”
Matthew will, under the terms of his junior membership, also be able to enrol on junior X bike sessions in the gym which are planned for half-term at a reduced rate for members.
Mr Morgan said: “The gym at Aquasplash has recently undergone a fantastic £30,000 refurbishment and Matthew will have the opportunity to enjoy the pool and, if he wishes, the brand new X bikes and television screens which bring the biking experience to life.”
Big Blue is in use at the Aquasplash pool every weekend between 12 noon and 3 pm.

• Our photograph shows Paul Morgan presenting Matthew Legg with his Aquasplash membership certificate in front of Big Blue. Photo submitted.

£30K refurbishment for Aquasplash despite closure plans

THE doomed Aquasplash leisure pool, in Minehead, is to undergo a £30,000 refurbishment of its gymnasium facilities.
West Somerset Council plans to close the loss-making pool and replace it with a new facility as part of a £32 million New Horizons health, leisure, business, and housing development nearby.
But first, it is spending £30,000 on sprucing up the centre and modernising some of its equipment.
The gym at Aquasplash is closing for two weeks to allow the work to be completed, from Friday, February 23, to Friday, March 9.
The council’s leisure services manager, Janice Malarkey, said: “As well as replacing all the carpets and redecorating, Aquasplash users will find all the television screens replaced and brand new X bikes installed.
“We are delighted we will be able to offer local fitness fans new and refurbished facilities.”
While the walls and woodwork will receive a new coat of paint, AG Flooring will be laying new carpets throughout the gyms and function rooms.
The gym machines are being re-upholstered and the health suite showers will be re-grouted.
Aquasplash supervisor Chris Gibbs said: “X bikes are similar to exercise bikes, but much better.
“Whereas exercise bikes are ‘fixed’ and only give a lower body workout, the handlebars on X bikes move from side to side so clients also get an upper body workout.
“Television screens will be installed in front of the bikes, so X bikers can watch DVDs which appear to take them on cycle rides or tracks, so it is as close as you can get to the real thing.
“Bikers can change the resistance on the bikes as the DVDs take them ‘uphill’. X bikes are great for full body workouts and the DVDs make it a lot more fun.”
Photo submitted.

Government promises £24.5 million for new West Somerset hospital

THE Health Minister, Lord Warner, has today (Thursday, December 21) announced a £750 million fund for new community hospitals and NHS services which includes a new hospital for West Somerset.
The £24.5 million hospital in Minehead is being planned on a site off Seaward Way in a partnership with West Somerset Council and other agencies.
The partnership, called New Horizons, recently submitted a planning application for the development which also includes a new swimming pool, leisure facilities, business support services, and housing for local people.
The new Minehead hospital will have 20 beds and include a new diagnostic centre and day theatre, as well as new dental facilities and urgent care unit.
It is set to be fully operational from late 2009.
Lord Warner said the Minehead hospital would be one of the first to be provided by the new funding package.
The fund was intended to allow NHS patients to have minor operations closer to their homes and to receive medical tests and follow-up care outside of large hospitals.
The money will be made available to the newly-created Somerset Primary Care Trust, which has recently been reviewing the business cases for several new community hospitals planned in the county.
They had been under threat due to lack of PCT funds and a Government formula which said Somerset should only have five community hospitals against the present 13.
However, Lord Warner said: “A modern health service needs a significant amount of care provided in state-of-the-art community hospitals.
“This model of care suits peoples’ daily lives and will help many patients maintain their independence.
“Today’s funding underlines our commitment to the future of community hospitals and shows our desire to replace outdated and unsuitable buildings with modern facilities fit for the future.
"These new NHS facilities will turn our “White Paper proposals for more care closer to home into reality for thousands of patients.
“This is just the first group of new hospitals and there will be more throughout 2007 as we invest £750 million in similar schemes over the next five years.”
Community Hospitals Association chief executive Barbara Moore said: “We are delighted to hear news of the first communities to benefit from funding to modernise and extend the services available from upgraded or new community hospitals.
“Many people will be very relieved that the future of their community facilities is now secured. We look forward to seeing this repeated in many other areas.”
Lord Warner also announced today that the Department of Health has completed a deal to become sole owner of Partnerships for Health (PfH), the public private partnership set up to encourage investment in GP premises and health centres.
The deal will assist the implementation of the community hospital programme.
NHS patients should benefit from a more focused delivery of the community hospital programme, as the Department will be able to use the skills within PfH to support community ventures.
Lord Warner said: “Gaining sole ownership of Partnerships for Health is good news for patients and the NHS in the long-term.
“This deal gives us access to the skilled and experienced people needed to take forward our plans for a new generation of NHS community hospitals.
“Patients will benefit from the continued delivery of these community hospitals, while the deal will also help ensure that the new PCTs can hit the ground running as they take forward the ongoing NHS LIFT programme.”

• Our photograph shows Health Minister Lord Warner. Photo submitted.