In the middle of Gillingham there is a shining light of environmental excellence: the leisure centre known to all as RiversMeet, where investment in green technology has been all-embracing. The pool and changing rooms are heated by air source heat pumps, roof mounted solar panels generate almost all of the building’s electrical energy requirements and all of the lighting is modern and low consumption.
The management team has created a culture of sustainability that is wholly admirable. In the past two years, energy consumption has been cut by 50 per cent and carbon emissions by no less than 92 per cent. RiversMeet has just been certified with a category A property energy rating – the whole of North Dorset can be proud of the example being set.
What is more remarkable is that RiversMeet is owned by the community, operated on a not-for-profit basis by a team of professionals overseen by a board of volunteer Trustees drawn from the community.
A unique asset
The main centre on Hardings Lane, RiversMeet Active, was created on the back of strong community support and District Council funding in a rebuild programme from 2008 to 2010.
In 2023, RiversMeet Performance was added as a new high-performance training and fitness centre located on the Brickfields Industrial Estate – perhaps more well known locally as ‘the old Legends nightclub’! This facility was enabled by considerable support from Dextra and lies alongside the centre’s gymnastics and soft play centre.
RiversMeet is a unique community asset – there are no other wholly community owned-and-operated facilities of this kind in Dorset, and very few nationally.
To succeed in these tough times, a health and leisure centre operating as a charity – with the many constraints that brings – has to be extraordinary and a valuable asset to its community.
RiversMeet provides a great deal for its members:
High performance training, gymnastic and broad range of fitness facilities
A range of health and wellbeing resources
A well-managed swimming pool for year-round use
Flexible spaces for events and recreational activities
A trained, professional team to support and enable a range of activities
A place just to meet, enjoy a coffee and relax
The town’s growing
RiversMeet’s business model is also based on delivering considerable value back to the community through:
Physical education, rehabilitation and stimulation for those whose health demands it
Affordable access for all ages and abilities through a flexible, no-contract membership plan
Employment and advancement opportunities for young people in the town and volunteering opportunities for those with the time and skills to help take RiversMeet forward
As a welcoming space for all manner of community, group and individual interests
As a facility offering membership deals, advertising and sponsorship opportunities for local businesses, large and small
Gillingham town is set to grow fast through the developments already under way and others in the offing. Demand for amenities like RiversMeet will grow too as we realise more and more just how important exercise and recreation is for our health and wellness. To keep up, RiversMeet needs to do three things – improve the resilience of some of its core systems, to modernise and upgrade its facilities and equipment, and it needs to build capacity both in the extent of its offering and the capability of its people. There are plans in hand for renewal and growth, and they now depend on the successful pursuit of grants, financial support and local fundraising.
RiversMeet is the centre of the community of Gillingham. It is a vital asset and a provider of essential services. Frankly, RiversMeet is amazing.
Mike Chapman, Trustee
The Gillingham Community and Leisure Trust Ltd
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