Rhyl Leisure Centre in north Wales has become the latest publicly-owned fitness facility to focus on small group classes as a way of attracting new members.

Denbighshire County Council – working with Alliance Leisure – has invested £1.2m over the last 12 months in upgrading the centre, which is operated by Denbighshire Leisure.

At the heart of the improvements is a new boutique-style functional training space, designed for individual training and instructor-led, small group sessions.

It features a full range of functional equipment, from suspension trainers, kettlebells and battle ropes to Bulgarian bags – in addition to an Origin Fitness Modular Storage Rig with 7m Bridge with a selection of attachments and accessories.

The centre's fitness suite has also been refurbished and features Technogym’s new Skill Range with Skillmill, Skillrow and Skillrun machines to enhance the small group training experience with heart-rate training focussed classes.

The third major addition is a new cycle studio, equipped with 25 Technogym indoor bikes, offering instructed and virtual classes.

“We're extremely proud of our new leisure facilities, particularly the functional training space, which is unique and innovative facility unrivalled in the local area," said Jamie Groves, head of facilities at Denbighshire County Council.

“The new facilities now offer a wider variety of training programmes, which has already had a positive impact on new as well as established members.”

Groves added that the cycle studio has enabled the introduction of a new timetable, featuring 15 classes per week, including early morning and evenings.