NOW OPEN! The Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub is a brand new community-owned and community-led facility in the heart of Podsmead in Gloucester which will offer sports, leisure and wellbeing activities, as well as becoming the home of our youth work team.

What is at the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub?

On the ground floor we have a fitness gym offering cardiovascular and resistance equipment as well as free weights and various gym-based fitness classes, and our 3G pitch offers fantastic training opportunities for rugby and football. As part of phase 2, we will also add other outdoor sports.

Upstairs we have a large studio space for classes including dance, yoga, Pilates, martial arts, spin and other fitness classes, and a flexible hireable space to host social and cultural events, classes, meetings and training events. You can even sit out on the balcony and enjoy views across the 3G and out onto Robinswood Hill.

The Blackbridge CCBS Youth Team are also now based at the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub, and will offer evening open access sessions for young people as well as smaller group work focused on issues that affect young people. There will be confidential one-to-one support and daytime provision using informal education for those not in education, employment, or training.

How can I join the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub?

The Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub is managed in partnership with Freedom Leisure, a not-for-profit leisure trust, who shares Blackbridge’s vision of promoting health, well-being, and inclusivity through accessible sports and recreational opportunities.

They operate over 120 leisure and cultural venues across England & Wales, including GL1 Leisure Centre and Oxstalls Sports Park in Gloucester, bringing extensive experience in delivering high-quality leisure services and helping us to ensure that the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub benefits the entire community.

To find out more about memberships and how to join visit https://www.freedom-leisure.co.uk/centres/blackbridge-community-and-sports-hub/

Who has developed the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub?

The development of the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub project has for a long time been led by people drawn from local sports clubs and community development charities. Last year the group decided to form the Blackbridge Charitable Community Benefit Society (Blackbridge CCBS), which was established for the benefit of the community rather than solely for its members.

The idea of developing community sport and leisure facilities at Blackbridge has evolved over several years, gradually gaining strategic and financial support from a number of key stakeholders, including Gloucester City Council and Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucester City Homes, the local Clinical Commissioning Group, Sport England, Gloucestershire Football Association, Podsmead Big Local, the Integrated Care Service and Gloucester Athletic Club. Other local sports clubs and community organisations also lent their support to the scheme by committing to use of the facilities once built.

Community-owned, community-led

The Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub has been driven by local people and local needs from the outset, and forms part of a bigger regeneration plan for the Podsmead neighbourhood which, despite possessing many positive qualities, has according to government indices been the most disadvantaged in Gloucestershire for at least a decade, including across health and wellbeing measures.

For example, according to the 2019 indices, the Podsmead estate is within the top 3% most health deprived areas nationally for people aged 16 – 64.

Residents have been invited to be part of the development throughout, through a number of open consultation events within Podsmead to view plans and ask questions, regular updates posted through doors of all houses in the areas and an open channel of communication inviting feedback at every stage.

Find out more in our Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub Frequently Asked Questions.