The new Britannia Leisure Centre opened to the public on 30th of June after more than two and a half years since the £384million redevelopment project was given the green light. The previous leisure centre was shabby chic at best and a very crap at worst.
You can expect to find rooftop football and tennis courts with panoramic views of London, two swimming pools and a colourful leisure pool with jets, a splash pad, slides and interactive water play areas.
The centre is operated by Better, a charitable social enterprise that runs all council leisure centres including Clissold Gym, Leyton Swimming Pool and the Olympic Park pool in Stratford. Ironically the booking system lives up to their name and could be a lot BETTER.
Bear the frustration, take deep breaths and rest assured that the effort is in fact worth it if only to see the joy on your child’s face.
Everything is shiny and new. The changing village is particularly clean and we liked the genderless aspect (no male and female changing rooms here), although there is a designated family area. Remember to bring a pound coin for the lockers, although if you forget you can bring your bag poolside.
I also was pleasantly surprised by the hairdryers. Dyson Supersonic no less. Makes the hardly working ones at Clissold gym look like they should be in a museum.
The swim session in the leisure pool lasts for one hour, although on our visit we were not told when our hour ran out and only decided to leave after the skin on our fingers became creased from too much water fun.
Phones are not allowed but we sneaked one in to take a couple of pictures so you know what to expect. Currently there are only a couple of disables spaces for parking on site but there is plenty of on street parking throughout the area should you need to drive.
The on site cafe serves a variety of healthy food at reasonable prices (plenty of choices for kids too) and you can even sit outside overlook Shoreditch Park. A great spot for an after swim snack.
To celebrate the opening of the Brittania Leisure Centre, there is a limited offer for free flume rides for young people in the area. Those under 16, students and U18 concessions who live in Hackney will be able to ride the eight meter flume and splash in the centre’s leisure pool for free, after paying £1.35 for a pay and play card. The offer is limited until August 31. Under 16s, students or U18s concessions who live in Hackney can download the Better UK App from the App Store (patience is a virtue with this one) or Play Store to get their pay and play card.
To learn more about the new Britannia, visit: better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/hackney/britannia-leisure-centre