New Costa Coffee shop is planned for leisure centre - and Richard Osman is thrilled

Work at the centre, in Haywards Heath, will include the addition of a Costa coffee shop and a soft-play area to the reception and cafe.

And Richard Osman, who hosts the gameshow Pointless with Alexander Armstrong, is delighted with the news after seeing it in the Lewes and South Coast edition of The Argus.

I should point out that this headline delights me, and genuinely has more importance in people’s actual lives than most newspaper headlines.

— Richard Osman (@richardosman) May 9, 2019

There will also be an upgrade of the ground-floor toilets, replacement of the tiles in the wet changing area and conversion of the old bar into a treatment room.

Due to be carried out between May and November, the work will cost £526,034.

The council’s portion of the bill will be taken from its general reserve, with Places Leisure – its leisure management partner – covering the remaining £328,034.

Since 2014, the partnership has seen £6m spent on the district’s three major leisure centres, in Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and East Grinstead, with the results bringing in around £82,500 per annum for the council.

At a meeting of the cabinet on Monday, out-going leader Garry Wall called the latest scheme a ‘very sensible investment’.

Gary Marsh (Con, Ardingly & Balcombe) said that, with so much work having been carried out at the Triangle, in Burgess Hill, ‘it’s only right we turn our sights to the Dolphin Centre’.

He added: “I really think this is a welcome addition to our portfolio and I really do believe that it shows we do work with Places Leisure in a really good partnership.”

The final word on the scheme will go to the full council.

Members were assured that, should it be given the green light, the work would be staggered before and after the summer holidays, to avoid disruption to customers.