Shirebrook leisure centre and park win £256,076 from East Midlands Mayor's community fund

The Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, has awarded £256,076 from her Community Development Fund to Shirebrook Town Council for improvements to the north Derbyshire town's leisure centre and park, the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) said.

The money will pay for a pump track for cyclists and skaters, a circular walking path, a community kick-about and multi-use games space, upgraded gym equipment and a refurbished children's soft play area, according to EMCCA.

The award is for a project called Kissingate Active Together: Shirebrook North Community Health, Play and Sport Hub. The town council is working with Shirebrook Leisure Centre and Bolsover District Council to deliver it.

Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, said: "Outdoor spaces and facilities for exercise and play are vital for the health of our communities – they enable people to come together and get active, in places they can be proud of."

The project

EMCCA said research had found that Shirebrook North faces a combination of deep deprivation, poor health, low physical activity and a shortage of accessible local sites. Residents had asked for safer local spaces, better signage, family-friendly walking opportunities, more accessible places to be active and more for young people to do, it said.

The authority said it hoped the pump track could help reduce boredom among young people and contribute to preventing antisocial behaviour.

Councillor Martin Barber of Shirebrook Town Council said the investment would encourage more people of all ages and abilities to become active and was about creating opportunities for families, young people and residents across Shirebrook.

Tracy Baxter, Shirebrook Leisure Centre general manager, said: "Together, these improvements are about much more than new equipment and facilities. They represent an investment in the health, happiness and future of the town."

The building

The centre opened in 1984 as Kissingate Leisure Centre under the Sports Council's Standardised Approach to Sports Halls (SASH) programme, part-funded by Bolsover District Council and Shirebrook Town Council, according to the town council's own account. The town council later acquired the building and its land, renamed it Shirebrook Leisure Centre and relaunched it in 2012.

The town council said the centre on Park Road already has a squash court, an indoor soft play area, a Boxigym, a floodlit five-a-side all-weather pitch and a skate park.

The fund

The £3m Community Development Fund runs over three years and is aimed at boosting community resilience, increasing local skills and enabling people to shape their own neighbourhoods, EMCCA said. Shirebrook North, in Bolsover, is one of 10 priority areas, which EMCCA said were chosen using local data and insight from councils because of high levels of deprivation.

Each area's allocation includes a small grants pot of about £8,000 for new or grassroots groups, and up to 10% can go towards local management and support costs. EMCCA will arrange an independent evaluation of the whole programme.

When EMCCA announced the first awards on 9 February 2026, with community-led schemes receiving up to £300,000 each, it said funding had been allocated to Shirebrook North but successful bids were still being confirmed. The authority's published timetable had said decisions would be issued and grant agreements finalised by 30 January 2026, with projects starting on 2 February 2026.

Comparable awards from the same fund went to Warsop and to Leamington in Sutton-in-Ashfield on 7 April 2026, EMCCA said.

Project	Recipient	Award
Kissingate Active Together, Shirebrook	Shirebrook Town Council	£256,076
Future Warsop	Warsop Parish Council	£252,868
Let's Go Leamington	The Academy Transformation Trust	£228,634

About a third of Warsop's funding is going to replace the roof of The Shed youth club, with the parish council planning more than 300 new youth club sessions over three years. The Leamington project includes eight grants of £1,000 for organisations working in the area, EMCCA said. Elsewhere, two priority areas in Derby share more than £850,000 and two Nottingham wards more than £560,000.

Ward was elected Mayor of the East Midlands in May 2024, representing 2.2 million people across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Nottingham, with responsibilities including skills and adult education, housing and land, transport, net zero and economic development. The fund was first announced in March 2025 and launched on 4 September 2025 at Gamesley Community Centre, Glossop.