Leeds in the 1980s: The story of a jinxed leisure centre
Kirkstall Leisure Centre: How the sports complex was besieged with issues during the first few years after opening
It was a leisure centre beset by a series of problems in the first four years of its short history in the mid-1980s.
The issues were so bad that it prompted bewildered council officials at the time to describe them as “disturbing”.
Kirkstall Leisure Centre was opened in June 1985 at a cost of £1.7 million and was heralded as boasting the very latest in design and facilities. It represented the 12th major centre to open in the city during the past decade.
“Leeds’s record on sport is envied far and wide and we would be proud of having developed the finest indoor facilities of any city in the country,” said Coun Bernard Atha (Lab, Kirkstall) a former vice-chairman of the Sports Council. “We have also been keen to ensure our centre are open to all and operate an excellent concession scheme which offers a variety of discounts to groups such as single parents and theur children, senior citizens and people out of work.”
Yet within months of opening swimmers enjoying a dip turned green with anger when vandals threw a bag of fluorescent dye into the pool.
Officials immediately cleared deep end and cordoned it off, before opening an outlet valve to help it disperse. Centre manager David Jackson told the YEP there were around 50 people in the pool at the time and the dye had been in a household plastic bag.
A year later condensation dripping onto the playing surfaces of the squash courts forced their closure for three months. Repairs included replacing lagging in the roof and replacing tiles.
And by March 1989 more issues surfaced after dripping condensation forced the closure of the swimming pool prompting hurried repairs over the Easter holidays.
David Henderson, deputy manager at the Leisure Centre, said: “Everything is back to normal and seems to be okay. If anything it seems to be even better than before.”