10:30am Thursday 4th March 2010
By Liza-Jane Gillespie
THORNBURY Leisure Centre is celebrating its 30th birthday today.
The £1.5 million centre was opened on March 4, 1980 by Sir John Wills, Lord Lieutenant of Avon, and offered the people of Thornbury their own swimming pool for the first time.
The project to build the sports centre was started in 1970 by Thornbury Rural District Council, but because of economic difficulties took another 10 years before it was built by Northavon District Council.
When the centre opened it boasted a swimming pool, climbing wall and saunas, and provided a variety of clubs for people to join, including a mums and kids tumble group, a jogging club and activity sessions for the over 40s.
In 1981, only a year after it opened, a new indoor bowls green and weights room were also added.
In 1989 the Severnside Hall was built, creating an international indoor bowls green with viewing balcony. However, this has since been resurfaced and is used for five-a-side and functions such as modelling exhibitions.
Joining the celebrations today will be two members of staff who are still serving the centre's customers after 30 years.
Margaret Philp has worked on reception at the centre since it opened, while John Scanlan started as a lifeguard in 1980 but is now assistant leisure operations manager.
John, who was just 21 when he started at the centre, said: "I only came here for six months. I had intended to go back to Butlins where I’d worked the previous summer but I’ve been here for 30 years."
During his time at the centre John has also coached swimming classes.
"I’ve probably trained most of the children that have come through here. You take them on as kids and then they train as lifeguards and start working here and then they come back with their own children.
"You can’t go anywhere without someone recognising you," he said.
Thirty years later and the centre has changed a great deal.
Margaret said: "When we started you had these great big booking sheets for each day and you had to write it by hand. When the computers arrived it was quite a change for everyone."
Internally some of the rooms have also changed quite significantly too, where there was once Thornbury’s only nightclub Crazy Hour there is now Bridges fitness gym.
Thornbury Leisure Centre is hosting a party for staff, past and present, in the Severnside Suite tomorrow, Friday, March 5 (1pm).
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