Medway Conservatives were delighted to attend the opening of the Cozenton Park Sports Centre in Rainham, which opens today.
Cozenton Park Sports Centre (formerly Splashes) is the flagship £25m project of the previous Conservative administration. The Sports Centre includes a leisure pool, lane swimming, and a state of the art gym and fitness studio. It will also see a new cafe, which will open later this year. The facility replaces the previous Splashes Sports Centre, which opened in 1990, and delivers a state of the art facility for the eastern part of Medway.
In June 2021, the then Conservative led Cabinet approved the demolition of the building, and in July 2021 instructed officers to begin developing detailed proposals for a new sports centre in Rainham. Funding was then approved in late 2022 for the £25m Cozenton Park Sports Centre, despite opposition from the then Leader of the Opposition and now Leader of the Council, Cllr Vince Maple.
The facility has strong environmental credentials and strengthens the strong leisure offer in Medway.
Cllr George Perfect, Leader of the Opposition and Member for Rainham North said:
It was brilliant to attend the opening of Cozenton Park Sports Centre yesterday. The impressive facility, in my own ward of Rainham North, will be a fantastic asset for our community and for the whole of Medway. I know, like for me, Splashes was where many people in Medway formed memories of time having fun as a family, and now, Cozenton Park Sports Centre will continue to fulfil that role.
This is an exciting day for the people of Rainham.
Cllr Howard Doe, Member for Rainham South East and Former Deputy Leader of Medway Council:
I was proud to attend the opening of Cozenton Park Sports Centre. The previous administration was tireless in its determination to deliver a new sports centre for the people of Rainham, despite the then opposition Labour and Co-Operative Group wanting to delay the project, which opens today.
The facility replaces the previous and very successful Splashes Sports Centre which I was pleased to see open in 1990. This facility continues Medway Council's strong leisure offer, which is one of the best in the country, with five Council owned and maintained leisure centres across the Medway towns.
I’m proud of the Conservative record on sport and leisure in Medway.
