The Day We Topped Out £12m New Leisure Centre In Wednesfield!
A Memory of Wednesfield.
£12m Wednesfield Leisure Pool.
It has been a very big week for both myself and Mary, we have attended 11 individual events as well as trying to hold the day jobs down!
On Monday we both attended the new Leisure Centre that is being promoted and instigated by the City Council at Bowman's Harbour in Wednesfield. It is a £12m high tech leisure centre of immense quality. I am sure that every one that will have noticed its development will already be impressed by its iconic shape, and the way it sits against the backdrop of that large hill.
Not many people know but the coloured glass which is very much a feature of the building has a very close connection to the city. In fact it is about 300 yards away as the crow flies! It is manufactured at Watson's Glass, Process Works,Old Heath Road,Wolverhampton.
The owner of the company is Evan Watson, this company have supplied the coloured laminated vanceva glass for the new leisure centre to Pilkington's who made the double glazed units.
So when you look out on the Leisure Pool there is a very local connection as the manufacturer and processor of specialist glasses.They use their skills to all areas of industry across the UK, but I think there is something poignant about this fact.
I think it is brilliant that such a local company is part of such a major initiative to help construct a development that will not only be a successful part of the city's leisure offer, but will also be a very striking local development that should help to promote and enhance Wednesfield and Wolverhampton as a city.
It was a brave decision that the city council took when they decided to go ahead with this state of the art centre. There are three pools that will be on offer, and a fitness centre. The construction is on time and Carrilion and Mowlem are working flat out to bring the centre on stream in December.
Mary and I enjoyed the topping out ceremony when we mixed oil,wine, salt, and seeds together in what I am told was a druids ceremony, to bring good luck to the building. Goodness knows what my chaplain Reverend John Points would think, he can see the development from his church tower and here we were going through a pagan ceremony in sight of the Parish Church of Wednesfield!"
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Author: Phil Bateman
Article Date: 29th April 2006
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