By Lesley Walsh
THE SPIRIT of the late alderman Jimmy Menagh has been enshrined in moves to celebrate the success of the Ards Blair Mayne Leisure and Wellbeing Complex and its ‘special’ staff.
Ahead of its sixth anniversary in 2025, councillor Joe Boyle proposed an event such as a civic reception be held next year to six years of its ‘huge success’ since opening in 2019.
Dedicating his motion to Mr Menagh, who died in 2022 and who was ‘passionate’ about sports and leisure activity across the borough, the SDLP councillor said despite the different views he held with Mr Menagh the two held a common aim on the sporting front.
He referred to the former Ards Leisure Centre, which in its final year of business, in 2018, generated income of £1,100,000, stating that in comparison, the £30m Ards Blair Mayne centre’s figure for last year was £2,551,316 – a 132% increase.
Listing its achievements, Mr Boyle said the centre caters for more than 7,500 members, and delivered more than 2,900,000 sessions in the gym and spa, and over 10,000 fitness classes participated in by 260,000 people since opening.
He paid tribute to the centre’s operations manager Sean Fegan and ‘amazing staff’ who ‘provide an excellent delivery service for everyone’, from residents to visitors to the borough.
UUP councillor Pete Wray said the complex was ‘one of the biggest assets we have’ in the borough, whose ‘statistics speak for themselves’.
He said a celebratory event should take place to ‘acknowledge the staff’, and would ‘send a message across Northern Ireland that it’s a premier borough to encourage visitors here’.
Mr Wray added ‘it’s a good news story’ and was an example of what the council’s leisure strategy could achieve.
Independent councillor Steven Irvine said the complex was a community hub for everyone ‘from the very very young to the very very old.
Deputy Mayor, David Chambers, of the Ulster Unionist Party, said he recalled visiting the site of the centre ‘in high-vis jackets and hard hats’ when it was under construction.
Commenting on the many ‘difficult challenges’ that have been encountered in the ‘high quality’ centre’s brief history, he said ‘staff have really risen to the challenge and agreed those ‘quality staff’ should be publicly commended.
Alliance councillor Victoria Moore expressed support for the motion, stating ‘we are very lucky to have such a facility in our borough’, describing it as ‘amazing’.
She referred to the discovery of the WW2 bomb in the Rivenwood housing development on Movilla Road in August and said it had been Blair Mayne staff who had stepped up to ‘support the people of the borough’, and said it was ‘a case in point’ of their calibre.
Lauren Kendall, of the Green Party said she was ‘absolutely’ in favour of the motion, stating that with a great appreciation of leisure services, she would support ‘whatever can be done to strengthen sports and leisure in the borough’.
Members agreed council officials draw up a report on ways to commemorate the centre, which will first have to be ratified by full council.
The late alderman Jimmy Menagh.
