MEMBERS of the public are invited to get active and make the most of a community fitness facility in Hagley which has been kitted out with brand new equipment thanks to the New Homes Bonus Community Grants Scheme.

Haybridge Sports Centre was awarded £22,710 through the scheme after submitting a successful bid to Bromsgrove District Council - and the fitness suite at the centre was upgraded at the end of December in time for people to start their new year get fit regimes.

The old equipment had originally been bought second hand almost ten years ago when Haybridge High School took on the running of the sports centre.

A spokesperson from the school said: “In 2008, we faced a difficult decision regarding whether or not to take on the running of the community sports usage and lettings.

"The school had little experience of managing this type of enterprise and we were initially concerned this would place a significant additional strain on the school.

"However, our initial concerns were soon alleviated and the community were brilliant in supporting us in those early days which allowed us to cover all our overheads and running costs and facilitated us in growing and developing the sports centre and the types of lettings that we could offer."

Members of the public are now being invited to try out the revamped fitness suite which boasts new treadmills, cross trainers, stepping machines, bikes, weight machines, a variety of free weights, punch bags and benches.

School bosses hope the upgrade will attract more gym-goers and create a higher turnover for the centre to help sustain its future.

Check out www.haybridge.worcs.sch.uk/sportscentre/ to find out more about the facility.