Ballyfermot recently welcomed it’s newest amenity, a top class leisure centre on nearby Blackditch Road. The centre officially opened its doors on November 4.

This signalled an end to an exhaustive four year planning, design and development process. The centre is the latest in a line of positive additions to the locality. The youth centre, €22m Base Centre, and the Sana Vita Medical Centre all opened their doors for the first time in recent weeks.

BLC manager, Frank Sullivan explained the benefits of the impressive facility “the project cost €25m but it was badly needed considering that the original building contained just a swimming pool, locals who had to travel to Liffey Valley for a workout can now enjoy the gym facilities we have here”.

Containing a fully equipped gym, aerobics studio, steam room, sauna, 5-a-side-pitches, sports hall and a state of the art 25-metre pool (with retractable floor), the leisure centre will appeal not just to fitness fanatics but to curious punters seeking a change of scenery and of course the hard working students at BCFE. It will be interesting to see if more people will hit the gym in an effort to beat the blues surrounding the current economic climate.

Whilst the centre originally opened back in July, Sullivan admits that business had been slow initially, but he has noticed a sudden rise in numbers lately. Much of this could be attributed to the recent publicising of a ‘pay as you go’ scheme, whereby users can purchase a €7 ticket for a single session. The scheme which is also adopted in the leisure centre’s sister site, The Markievicz in Townsend Street, has proved very popular. Sullivan agreed that “most of our business would come from the ‘pay as you go’, it is a quick and easy option that people like”.

33-year-old Jenny McAdams, from Croftwood Park, Ballyfermot, has been coming here for a month now and she is a fan of the scheme saying, “It’s handy for me because I work different hours each week, unlike a membership, I am getting full value for my money”.

Football fans from Ballyfermot college may be pleased to hear that there is 5-a-side football pitch available to rent at attractive hourly rates during the day. Floodlit all-weather pitches are availabe at night if students are worried, however slightly, about missing class.