King Alfred Leisure Centre
.JPG) The leisure centre in 2011 | |
 | |
| Location | Hove, Brighton and Hove, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°49′30″N 0°10′44″W / 50.8251°N 0.1789°W |
| Owner | Brighton and Hove City Council |
| Operator | Freedom Leisure |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1939 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
The King Alfred Leisure Centre is a leisure centre on Hove seafront in the city of Brighton and Hove in England. The complex, which includes a ballroom, sports halls and swimming pools, is owned by Brighton and Hove City Council and operated by Freedom Leisure.[1] The King Alfred is colloquially known by some residents as the "Devil Tower".
Facilities
[edit]The wetside facilities include a 25 m (82 ft) 6-lane swimming pool which ranges from a depth of 1.2–2.5 m (3 ft 11 in – 8 ft 2 in). This pool is used by Shiverers Swimming Club for training.[2] There is also a lagoon area with a large slide for over 8s. There was once a smaller slide for under 8s which was removed and replaced with other play activities.[3] A teaching pool (depth 0.9–1.2 m (2 ft 11 in – 3 ft 11 in)) is also used for swimming lessons which follow a syllabus designed by the ASA.[4]
Full wetside changing facilities are available including individual cubicles, family cubicles, group changing rooms and disabled changing room (which uses the RADAR key scheme[5]). There are also lockers which take £1 coins.
The King Alfred Leisure Centre also has a relatively small gym with a variety of machines and free weights and the larger Cheetahs gym[6] which is not managed by Brighton and Hove City Council.
A therapy room is based in the old entrance hall called purple turtle[7] which offers a wide variety of treatments.
There are two sports halls based in the old pool halls. The main sports hall is used for sports such as badminton, football, basketball, roller hockey and trampolining whilst the small one is used for mini mayhem sessions (a soft play session), martial arts, table tennis and sessions such as aerobics.
The King Alfred Leisure Centre also has a ballroom which hosts a wide variety of events such as meetings, exams and live music, most notably is a performance by Nick Cave on 2 July 2008.[8]
There is also an indoor bowls club on the east side of the building (in what was once a car park) and 'multiplay' facilities to the west which have netball and tennis courts.[9] The centre has car parking facilities on the west side above a ten pin bowling rink and a laser tag centre, both of which have been left abandoned.
There is also a cafe which opened in 2008, replacing the long serving 'Splash Cafe' which closed due to the proposed redevelopment.
Pool users
[edit]As well as public sessions, the pools are also used by many clubs including Shiverers Swimming Club, Dolphins Disabled Swimming Club, Marlins Disabled Swimming Club, Brighton Lifesaving Club, and a freediving club. The pool is also used by Brighton Swimming Teachers Centre.[10] Until 2007, the offices of Brighton Swimming Teachers Centre were based in the offices on the north side of the building, along with the Brighton Transport offices, however both parties left in 2007 due to the proposed redevelopment,[11] which has since been postponed.[12]
The pool was also used twice by David Walliams during his training for his channel crossing.
History
[edit]
The purpose-built leisure facility Hove Marina was ready to be opened to the public when war was declared on 3 September 1939. The swimming pools were filled with water pumped in from the sea and then filtered.[13] The facility was almost immediately commandeered by the Royal Navy for the training of RNVR officers and was commissioned as HMS King Alfred.[14] After the war, and with permission from the Admiralty, it officially adopted the name by which it was now universally known. The seawater pool was decommissioned in 1977, and re-opened in 1980 using fresh water, after a £4 million redevelopment.[13]
Three water slides (flumes) that fed in to a plunge pool used to exist on the east side of the building. Opened in August 1986, the fastest was called The Black Hole, followed by the red Aqua-jet, with the yellow Twister for beginners. However, by November 2000 the slides were closed indefinitely due to health and safety concerns before ultimately being removed in 2009.[15][16]
There also used to be an ice rink at the leisure facility.
Redevelopment
[edit]Due to the age of the building redevelopment has been proposed for many years with plans by Frank Gehry eventually being accepted, stirring up much controversy about how it would fit in with the rest of Hove along with concerns about whether the increase in sporting facilities proposed would be adequate for a city the size of Brighton and Hove. However these plans were shelved in 2008 due to the financial crisis meaning the required funds could not be borrowed and the housing market crash meant that the flats would not have produced the desired return.[17]
The swimming pool building has bays fronting the esplanade and a distinctive curved roof form.
References
[edit]- ^ King Alfred: Brighton & Hove City Council Websites
- ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- ^ King Alfred: Brighton & Hove City Council Websites
- ^ King Alfred: Brighton & Hove City Council Websites
- ^ "RADAR – The Disability Network: National Key Scheme". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- ^ Cheetahs Gym Hove | Big Gym Small Prices! Archived 31 July 2012 at archive.today
- ^ King Alfred: Brighton & Hove City Council Websites
- ^ Grinderman, The King Alfred Ballroom Suite, Hove, July 2 (From The Argus)
- ^ King Alfred: Brighton & Hove City Council Websites
- ^ Last Minute Lifeguard
- ^ Brighton & Hove City Council – king alfred development
- ^ Delay on King Alfred decision (From The Argus)
- ^ a b "Hove in the Past: The King Alfred Site, Hove". 22 February 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2022..
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Slides are shut". The Argus. 10 November 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Hove in the Past". Judy Middleton. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ The Argus News – Brighton Hove & Sussex, local and national news, business, weather and travel
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