Axminster Leisure Centre has been at the heart of the town's health and fitness scene since 1988.

Now, in a new partnership with Axminster Nub News, it's investing in the community and helping people regardless of their age or ability to improve their physical and mental health.

We're going to be bringing you regular updates and news about Axminster Leisure Centre, including upcoming events in our What's On section.

What's on offer?

Axminster Leisure Centre offers a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all its members. Its gym is kitted out with the latest equipment including weights, cardio and resistance machines, as well as a unique InBody composition analyser.

This uses an electrical current to measure your muscle, fat, bone density and hydration to pin point how your health and fitness could be improved and helps the team create a tailored programme to ensure you can achieve your goals.

The studio offers group classes, ranging from studio cycling, body conditioning and boxercise to pilates, pure stretch and danceacise, while local organisations and informal groups can make the most of the large, multi-functional sports hall for more traditional sports, such as netball and badminton.

The centre is planning to launch more junior activities and indoor sports, including archery and trampolining.

Axminster Leisure Centre also boasts a full-size, floodlit 3G sports pitch – the only of its kind available to hire in East Devon – which is well used by leisure leagues and football clubs from across the area.

Giving back to the community

The centre is part of the LED Leisure group, which is run as a charitable trust with 12 facilities across East Devon. LED's aims are to provide facilities for recreation, sport, and cultural pursuits which are of the maximum benefit to the community and accessible to all – improving physical and mental health, building stronger communities and enabling people to reach their full potential.

Community engagement and reinvesting in the local area at the forefront of everything LED does, with its outreach team always looking at the best way funding can be spent to fill gaps and provide new pathways into exercise.

A recent study showed that the social value generated across LED sites during 2019 was worth a total of £8.9million, with £678,000 coming from Axminster Leisure Centre alone. This study valued the social impacts of participation in sporting activities and took several factors into consideration, including improved health, wellbeing, increased educational attainment and a reduction in crime.

Axminster Leisure Centre also helps those who have suffered illness or injury get back to full health through its referral service.

Vanessa Boden runs the centre's GP referral, cancer and cardiac rehab schemes, working with health professionals including GPs, physiotherapists, cardiac nurses and the FORCE cancer charity, offering a 12-week rehabilitation programme, including a full health assessment and supervised by a qualified instructor.

Vanessa has also previously run pain escape courses for those with osteoarthritis of the hips and knees and is hoping to repeat this in the New Year.

Meet the new manager

Having started with LED as a membership advisor fours years ago and worked his way up, Simon Price was appointed manager of Axminster Leisure Centre at the beginning of September.

He said: "Fitness has always been a big part of my life. I enjoy seeing the rewards for the effort you put in and believe it can help you on a day to day basis with stress relief and helping mental health.

"Everyone has a different story, different goals and are here for different reasons, but ultimately they're all working towards the same thing – to improve their health and fitness and seeing the positive changes in our members is great."

Axminster Leisure Centre has a small and close-knit team, but the staff and instructors vary in their age and areas of expertise to ensure they meet the needs of all members and make them feel as comfortable as possible.

Members benefit from initial inductions and assessments and can then touch base with instructors throughout their fitness journey, with regular reviews to ensure they are achieving their goals. They are also able to use all LED facilities across East Devon, including its leisure centres, swimming pools and tennis courts in neighbouring towns.

"It doesn't matter where you are in life in terms of fitness, we have instructors for all levels, all ages and abilities," Simon added.

To find our more about membership, class and activities available at Axminster Leisure Centre, visit ledleisure.co.uk