An immersive bowling centre – the first of its kind in Durham – has opened at Peterlee Leisure Centre as part of a £4.5m redevelopment to widen the appeal of the venue.

Leisure development specialists Alliance Leisure Services is leading the project to revitalise the centre for Durham County Council. Procured through the UK Leisure Framework, which is owned and managed by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd (DLL), the centre has been significantly redeveloped to improve the leisure and wellbeing offer for the community, particularly for local families.

Ben Kelsey, Senior Manager – Projects & Performance, Culture, Sport & Tourism at Durham County Council said: “The transformation of the venue, including the new bowling facilities has been really well received by local people. We’ve been really busy since opening and the blend of traditional sports and fitness facilities alongside activities such as bowling and play are giving the venue an even greater appeal.

“This transformation follows earlier investment by the council to collocate the library within the leisure centre and refurbish the changing facilities. The council is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of our residents through delivery of leisure services and the creation of new, modern and exciting facilities and the changes made at Peterlee and those at our other leisure centres is clear evidence of that continued commitment.”

Following consultation with residents, a range of exciting new facilities have been introduced including an eight lane bowling alley, which now occupies half of the original sports hall. Four of the bowling lanes feature an immersive, interactive scoring experience from Bowling Vision which uses augmented reality, light and sound to give guests fast, fun and engaging games. Users can select their experience, choosing from more than 15 animation themes and even project their own photos onto the lane.

“The new bowling centre exemplifies how we consult and co-create solutions with our local authority partners to provide tailored solutions that meet local needs. Open to the public and leisure centre members, the ten-pin bowling alley will allow the venue to tap into the local and wider visitor economy to drive uncreased footfall and revenue,” says Sean Nolan, Business Development Manager at Alliance Leisure.

Other new facilities at Peterlee include a soft play adventure area for children and the centre’s first café serving healthy food and drink options.

Improvements have also been made to the centre’s fitness offer. The gym has been relocated to a larger space and now features Technogym equipment and technology, while the introduction of another fitness studio – bringing the total to three – allows the centre to provide dedicated cycling and mind-body spaces as well as virtual exercise classes. It can also expand the range of health services it offers including rehabilitation and smoking cessation sessions.

A wide range of activities are also available in the four court sports hall.

A range of energy efficiency measures have been installed across the site after the council secured funding from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. These include high efficiency LED lighting throughout, water saving devices and solar panels to produce electricity as well as replacing gas boilers with air source heat pumps. These measures are expected to reduce carbon dioxide usage by 300 tonnes a year.

The project forms part of the council’s wider Leisure Transformation Scheme, which has already seen Alliance successfully deliver the £3.5m redevelopment of Abbey Leisure Centre in July this year.

Works to replace the pipework at Peterlee’s swimming pool is ongoing and is expected to complete in early 2024.

The project team included contractors ISG, GT3 Architects and Axiom Project Management.