A new 85-station fitness suite has been unveiled at Hartham Leisure Centre in Hertford, Hertfordshire, following the completion of a £1.62m overhaul of the facility.

East Hertfordshire District Council (EHDC) funded the refurbishment project at the centre, which is operated by Sports and Leisure Management (SLM) under its Everyone Active brand. Work included extending the existing 42-station fitness suite to incorporate a wider range of Precor and Trixter equipment on the first floor of the centre, while a dedicated PowerPlate room and a group exercise room were also created.

Sheffield-based architects Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson drew up designs for the six-month renovation project, which was carried out by Phoenix and also included an improved reception area and new dry changing rooms. The scheme formed part of a wider programme of improvements by EHDC and SLM, which has included the £1.89m renovation of Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre in Bishop's Stortford.

SLM's regional director - South East, Duncan Jefford, told Leisure Opportunities that improvements to both centres had led to an increase in membership - particularly among direct-debit (DD) members. Jefford said: "At Bishop's Stortford, the number of direct-debit members increased from 300 to 1,800 by the time of the relaunch. At Hartham, we had 1,000 DD members, which has increased to 2,000."

SLM is also working towards helping the government achieve its target of everyone exercising for 30-minutes, five times a week, by establishing links with community groups to provide three periods of exercise in addition to two leisure centre-based workouts.