THESE long-awaited photos show the newly-completed refurbishment of the Malvern Splash Leisure Centre.

The multi-million pound redevelopment has been ongoing since last September, and the final finishing touches have been put in place at long last.

Pool users will now be able to benefit from fully refurbished changing rooms, dedicated disability changing facilities, additional family changing areas, a new flume, new interactive water play for younger swimmers, a new wave machine and a modern looking, revamped poolside area.

In addition, improvements have been made to improve the water quality through upgrades to the pool plant room, pumps and UV filter.

A number of energy efficiency features have also been put in place to help reduce the centre's carbon footprint.

These include LED lighting and improved glazing.

National lockdown restrictions mean gyms and leisure centres are currently closed, but with the Prime Minister setting a provisional reopening date of April 12 in his lockdown easing roadmap, the team at Freedom Leisure – which runs the centre on behalf of the council – say they are busy making preparations to ensure the pool will be ready when it reopens.

Cllr Peter Whatley, portfolio holder for resources on Malvern Hills District Council, said: “It’s fantastic that we’ve delivered the Splash project on time and on budget.

"It will provide a first-class facility for residents to enjoy and support our aims to help people get active.

"We had hoped to reopen for February half-term, but the current Covid-19 situation meant that wasn’t possible, so we took the extra time to do some additional work.

"I know the Freedom Leisure team will be making preparations to ensure they can open safely from 12 April, all being well, and we can’t wait now for everyone to be able to try out the new facilities."

Ivan Horsfall-Turner, managing director of Freedom Leisure, said: “It’s great to see the investment into redeveloping Malvern Splash completed.

"The Freedom Leisure team are excited to be planning the reopening of the centre and are looking forward to welcoming the Malvern community to come and see the fantastic changes for themselves.

"Being active is a key factor in maintaining our physical and mental health and wellbeing, and Malvern Splash offers lots of opportunities all under one roof."

Coronavirus restrictions mean some of the water play features of the new pool may have to remain closed until mid-May.

Clarification is being sought from the Government.

Residents should visit the Malvern Splash page on the Freedom Leisure website or check out the Malvern Splash social media channels for the latest information.