HRH The Duke of Gloucester opens a New Leisure Centre in Staines-upon-Thames.

Suzanne and I were honoured to join His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester and the Lord Lieutenant at the wonderful new Eclipse Leisure Centre in Staines-upon-Thames. It is an astonishing building boasting a 200-station gym, two swimming pools, sports hall, squash courts, Clip ‘n Climb, and four rooftop 5-a-side football pitches! It is one of the world’s largest Passivhaus certified leisure centres – meaning it has been recognised for its outstanding environmental efficiency and sustainability performance credentials and is one the first certified Passivhaus leisure facilities in the UK .

We were treated to a tour of the amazing facilities and met, amongst other users, the Spelthorne Parkies, a local club numbering over 120 members with Parkinson’s disease who were enjoying an active gym session.

We were escorted round by Daniel Mouawad, the CEO of Spelthorne Borough Council, who was rightly proud of this wonderful new community facility.

His Royal Highness unveiled a plaque commemorating his visit.