Our news & blog

The new-look Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Sudbury has officially opened its doors following a £2.4m extension and refurbishment – providing leisure facilities for the town for years to come. The new facilities are part of a multi-million-pound investment by Babergh District Council, with its leisure partner Abbeycroft Leisure, to modernise leisure provision in the town.

Brandon Leisure Centre has opened its doors to welcome back customers to keep fit and well, while contractors discreetly begin work on a major upgrade. The 44-week project to bring community health services alongside improved fitness facilities will be completed in three phases designed to keep any disruption to the absolute minimum, allowing users to get back into routines and enjoy using the facilities after lockdown.

If you're Christmas shopping in Bury St Edmunds, why not consider cycling in and parking for free?

Today (Thursday 19 November) is #Social Enterprise Day, a day to celebrate and raise the profile of social enterprise around the world. But many social enterprises are facing extreme operational and financial challenges, due to the economic and social restrictions currently in place, jeopardising the vital work they do, which is now more important than ever.

Abbeycroft Leisure has been a proud partner of Holbrook Academy since September 2016 and enjoyed working with them to manage their fitness centre, sports hall and pitches. It is therefore with great sadness that we announce that Holbrook Sports Centre will not reopen to the general public, but will still be used by the school.  

The first soft play centre in Newmarket has opened at the Leisure Centre following the £1.8m transformation which also includes a new café, gym spaces, studios and treatment rooms. The investment by West Suffolk Council, which was completed on time and on budget, has been opening in a safe and controlled way since lockdown ended. A new e-gym is due to be added shortly and a children's party area when restrictions allow.

As promised in my previous post, I would like to update you on what and how we are preparing the centres for re-opening. You will probably have heard, that gyms and leisure centres are in 'Phase 3' of the government's roadmap for reopening, and this is still likely to be July. It's also highly likely that we will phase the reopening of our facilities and we will provide further information on this, as the dates are confirmed.

I hope that you and your family are keeping well at this time and have been staying active where possible. In light of the government guidance and recent statements, I wanted to write to let you know how we are preparing for the future beyond lockdown and also take a little time to explain what our teams have been doing during this period. I'll update you over the next few weeks as and when government announcements are made.

We are disappointed to say that following the government’s latest recommendations, and in partnership with Babergh District Council and West Suffolk Council, who own some of the leisure centre buildings we operate, we have taken the decision to close the following centres by 16:00 on Friday 20 March, until further notice.

Important update - Babergh leisure centres are closing - and members can freeze their memberships. We are disappointed to say that following the government’s latest recommendations, and in partnership with Babergh District Council, who own some of the leisure centre buildings we operate, we have taken the decision to close the following centres by 16:00 on Friday 20 March, until further notice.

Work to build a new swimming pool at Hadleigh Pool and Leisure will enter its next construction phase this Spring. Babergh District Council working with its partner Abbeycroft Leisure is investing £2.4m with £200,000 of funds provided by Hadleigh Town Council and a Sports England grant (£150k), to build a new swimming pool at Hadleigh Pool and Leisure.

The world’s top cyclists will return to Suffolk this June as the county hosts the final stage of The Women’s Tour on Saturday 13 June. It will be the first time that Suffolk has hosted the final stage of The Women’s Tour since 2014, with riders tackling a route from Haverhill to Felixstowe.

People across west Suffolk are being urged to have their pulses checked for signs of a heart condition that has been described as a “ticking time bomb”. Atrial fibrillation (AF) causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate and is one of the major causes of severe stroke, particularly among the over-65s.

Despite the great British weather starting off rather wet and drizzly on Sunday (29th September), the sunshine eventually came through to help make the second closed road cycling event in Bury St Edmunds a success. There were almost 600 people who signed up for this years event, an increase of 20% on last year.

Bury St Edmunds based Brewing and pub company Greene King, headline sponsor of this year’s West Suffolk Sports Awards, will be joined by other leading, local companies and organisations who will sponsor individual award categories at the awards ceremony on 15th October.

Around 170 women took part in the sixth ‘Women on Wheels’ (WoW) cycle ride in Bury St Edmunds on Sunday 7th July, starting from Nowton Park. The all-female WoW cycle ride, has become a popular summer fixture in Bury, inspiring women and girls of all ages and abilities to get on their bikes, and complete either the 10, 25, 50 or 70 mile route.

Abbeycroft Leisure has been accredited with a nationally recognised standard for pool water treatment and quality at three of their swimming pools, by the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG), and they are the very first UK charitable leisure trust to do so.

Bury St Edmunds town centre will once again become a traffic-free, closed road cycle route on Sunday 29 September between 10am - 2pm.

The financial fundraising from this year's Sudbury Memory Walk, was equally divided between Hadleigh Dementia Action Alliance (HDAA) and The Bridge Project’s - Decaf. Each group will receive £1055.15 for much needed funds to keep their various programmes running.

Around 100 women and girls took part in the fifth ‘Women on Wheels’ (WoW) cycle ride in Sudbury on Sunday 21st July, starting from Acton Village Hall. The all-female WoW cycle ride, has become a popular fixture in Sudbury, inspiring women and girls of all ages and abilities...

Abbeycroft Leisure has signed two 5-year collaborative working agreements with Suffolk Mind and Allied Health Professionals Suffolk, with the aim of improving the health and wellbeing of residents in Suffolk. The aim of each agreement is to ensure that wherever there is an opportunity to provide joined up solutions that involve improving the mental and physical health of Suffolk residents through initiatives that involve physical activity we work together and not in competition.

Abbeycroft Leisure’s 'Together Tuesday’ scooped the prestigious 'Healthy Communities Award' at the recent UK Active Sports Awards in Manchester.

Abbeycroft Leisure’s Brandon Leisure Centre has become the second site in Suffolk to be awarded the new county-wide exercise referral quality standard for their work with patients with long term conditions referred to them by local GPs and health professionals.

Nominations are now open for the 2019 Greene King West Suffolk Sports Awards, which will be held at St Edmundsbury Cathedral on Tuesday 15th October.

Women on Wheels (WoW) Sudbury is calling all women and girls to get on their bikes again for this year’s female mass participation ride on Sunday 21st July. Starting from Acton Village Hall, the event is open to women and girls aged eight and over of all abilities with a choice of completing the 20 or 50 mile route...

Abbeycroft Leisure's Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre has become the first facility in Suffolk to be awarded a new county-wide quality standard for their Exercise Referral Scheme, called Active Living. 

Hot on the wheels of last week’s announcement of the Suffolk stage of the Women’s Tour, the hugely popular Women on Wheels (WoW) event is back for a sixth year in Bury St. Edmunds and registrations are now open.

The Suffolk facility beat off strong opposition to be crowned Local Authority/ Leisure Trust Gym of the Year at the National Fitness Awards 2018. The awards, organised by Script Events and leading industry publication Workout, with support from headline sponsor ServiceSport, recognise excellence, innovation and achievement in all corners of the industry.