The Cozenton Park Sports Centre (formerly Splashes) will open its doors to the general public on July 17. But is membership too expensive?
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00:00The finishing touches to Medway's new multi-million pound leisure centre.
00:06It's replacing the well-loved Splashes, which had to be demolished following structural faults.
00:12It might be renamed to Cosenton Park, but the council says the new facility still contains plenty of frills and splashes with slides and this wave machine.
00:23And the authority says they've taken the opportunity to improve accessibility.
00:27I think building a brand new state-of-the-art facility gives us the opportunity to get it exactly right.
00:32So making sure that it's fully accessible with the two lifts into the two pools and the changing places room as well.
00:39We had every opportunity to do that and we've taken that and of course making it sustainable.
00:44A 25-metre pool and modern gym equipment will be available to members.
00:48And this pool should also be more efficient to run with the water being heated by these solar panels on the roof.
00:55But to use this facility, it will cost more than £450 a year.
00:59The Conservative group who decided to rebuild the centre say it's not affordable to the public.
01:05I just hope it gets open soon and I do hope that it continues to get used.
01:10I have a concern that if the prices are so high, people will stop going and it won't get used and everybody will point and say it was the wrong decision.
01:18Which I don't think it is. It has to be priced correctly to make sure that people use it.
01:23The council are keen to remind the public there are a range of options available for memberships.
01:28We think the £40 a month Premium Membership does offer good value.
01:32But of course we also offer free sports for families.
01:37A Better Medway programme, for example, is a good opportunity for families to use who might not want to be able to take up Premium Membership.
01:45For more than four years, Rainier residents had been without their pool and there had been a number of twists and turns along that journey.
01:52But the official opening is now next month and Medway Council hopes that will make a splash with locals.