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£15.9m Peepul Centre set to open next month
The £15.9m Peepul Centre, a regeneration project incorporating health, sports and arts, is due to open in Leicester next month.
The complex is a 60,000sq ft (5,600sq m) community-led initiative which has been developed over the last 10 years by Belgrave Baheno, a voluntary organisation with a membership of more than 5,000 women and girls.
The centre, which aims to attract 220,000 users a year, has attracted funding from the Millennium Commission, Sport England, East Midlands Development Association and Arts Council England as well as the European Regional Development Fund and Leicester City Council.
The three-story site includes a 30,000sq ft (2,550sq m) gym equipped by Cybex, a women-only fitness suite for up to 30 females, a motorised fitness area for deconditioned users, a dance studio and sports hall.
There will also be a beauty salon comprising eight therapy rooms offering products and treatments sourced from developing nations.
Designed by Andrzej Blonski Architects, other facilities at the site include a 350-seat auditorium, a 100-cover restaurant and a community wing with a children’s development centre, training and conferencing facilities.
CEO of the Peepul Centre Rita Patel said the aim of the centre is to give ordinary people access to opportunities to achieve in many different ways.
The project has attracted widespread interest with other UK cities interested in developing Peepul centres of their own. Details: www.peepulcentre.com