Rivermead won ukactive's Regional Public Centre of the Year for the South of England, beating five finalists from Plymouth to St Albans. What it offers.

Rivermead Leisure Centre has been named the best public leisure centre in the South of England at the ukactive Awards. It won the Regional Public Club/Centre of the Year category for the South of England, the council announced on Tuesday (Reading Borough Council).

The winners were announced at the ukactive Awards ceremony in Birmingham on 8 October. Rivermead’s operator, GLL, listed it among three wins for the charity that night, alongside centres in Waltham Forest and Northern Ireland (GLL release).

ukactive is the trade body for gyms and leisure centres, and its awards are the sector’s main industry prizes. It said in July that this year’s awards drew 190 entries across 14 categories, a record (ukactive finalists announcement).

Who Rivermead beat

Six centres were shortlisted for the South of England prize:

  • Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, run by GLL (the winner)
  • Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre, St Albans, run by Everyone Active
  • Bexhill Leisure Centre, run by Freedom Leisure
  • Leatherhead Leisure Centre, also run by GLL
  • Penzance Leisure Centre, run by Parkwood Leisure
  • Plymouth Life Centre, run by Plymouth Active Leisure

What the council and GLL said

The council opened Rivermead in 2023 as part of what it calls a £40 million investment in the town’s leisure centres. Palmer Park, which opened in 2022, is the borough’s other new centre. GLL, which trades as Better, runs both on the council’s behalf.

Craig Woodward, a partnership manager at GLL, said the win was “a huge endorsement of the great partnership we enjoy with Reading Borough Council”. He said GLL “could not be prouder of the impact our programmes and team are having in tackling local health inequalities”.

Cllr Jacopo Lanzoni, the council’s lead councillor for leisure and culture, called it “a significant achievement” and “a testament to what can be achieved through strong partnership working”.

The council also says that earlier this year Rivermead was one of only seven leisure centres in the UK to be rated outstanding by Quest, Sport England’s quality scheme for the sector.

What it means for you

The award changes nothing about prices or opening hours. It is a fair independent check on a building the council paid for, though: judged against the region’s other public centres, Reading’s comes out on top.

What is there, according to the council:

  • an eight-lane competition swimming pool
  • a diving and teaching pool
  • a 120-station gym
  • cycle and exercise studios
  • a six-court sports hall
  • children’s soft play and party rooms
  • a café
  • a full-size all-weather pitch

Timetables, prices and booking are on Better’s Rivermead page. Rivermead is on Richfield Avenue, by the Thames.

Reading’s two older centres, Meadway and South Reading, had their own gyms refitted this year: what the £250,000 refit bought.

Sources