David Lloyd Leisure have announced a £25m investment into Harlow with a new health and wellness club coming to the Newhall area of the town.
Set to open in late 2025, the new facility will sit alongside the future growth planned locally with £1.3 billion already identified for the development of Harlow & Gilston Garden Town and Government announcing a £1.1 billion expansion of Stansted Airport.
And with HGGT aiming for 1000 new jobs per year over the next two decades, the new David Lloyd club will provide 100 new employment positions alongside 60 temporary roles during construction.
Speaking about their plans for Harlow, David Lloyd Leisure’s Director of New Club Acquisition, Stuart Caswell, said: “The area is going through a major transformation with the planned housing growth so it is a great opportunity for us and one that we’re really excited about.
“We have over 130 clubs in the UK and Europe and there’s a great alignment between David Lloyd Clubs members and young urban families living in new housing and developments so Harlow has been top of our list for potential new locations for quite some time.”
The new facility will include a large spa, multiple pools, and spaces for various sports and wellness activities with David Lloyd in Harlow set to be a model club in the company’s new build portfolio.
“The Harlow club is going to be a bigger than some of our most recent openings and it’s going to be a place that’s value for money for the whole family,” explained Stuart.
“We’re also seeing people use our clubs as workspaces, they’ll come to the gym in the morning, have their lunch and then spend the afternoon in the club room on calls, meetings or socialising with friends and their children so it is a real lifestyle choice.
“Wellness at David Lloyd Clubs has also grown and Harlow’s spa facility, which includes fire and ice rooms and hydro pools, will be double the size of some of our recent new clubs.
“It’s going to be a real destination for the town’s residents and people living in the rural villages across the local area.”
With Harlow & Gilston Garden Town’s new public travel routes dedicated to cycling, walking and bus travel already under construction, David Lloyd are also committed to members travelling sustainably in the future
“People are a lot more conscious of their health and well-being post Covid and we encourage active lifestyles when travelling to and from the club,” said Stuart.
“The average travel time to one of our clubs is around 10 minutes and we know that Harlow has a great cycling network.
“As a company, we’re constantly looking to design new, better looking and safer bike shelters for members to use across all our facilities.”
The initial £25m won’t be the only investment that David Lloyd Clubs make towards their new Harlow club over time.
“We like to go back every six or seven years and invest more into refreshing our facilities which ensures it’s up to date and still caters for local needs,” said Stuart of their future plans.
“That continued long term commitment is really important to us because it’s an exciting time, the Government are dedicated to house building and people want to invest locally so we’re really confident about Harlow’s future.”
