Eye-catching new pictures released last week reveal improvement works are going swimmingly at Stourbridge’s Crystal Leisure Centre.

The pictures reveal the slides are undergoing a tropical revamp, with a talented local artist coming in and painting fish and other sea creatures along the inside. It will create an effect of appearing like the fish are swimming when water is flowing through them again, and council bosses hope they will prove popular with visitors young and old alike. The outside of the slides has also been given a new lick of paint.

Other improvements have seen a new beach-style tiki hut installed poolside for when the centre’s popular Bondi Beat Friday night disco sessions resume. The 25m pool has now been completely refilled, with work continuing to clean the leisure pool before refilling it and improving the changing rooms.

It comes as improvement works are also continuing at Halesowen Leisure Centre, and a new £18m leisure centre is set to open in Dudley town centre next year. Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member responsible for leisure centres, said:

"We are committed to providing the best possible leisure facilities we can for borough residents, and we know how popular Crystal Leisure Centre is.

"We received a lot of feedback from people saying how important they thought the slides were. The overwhelming message was that they should stay in any revamp of the centre. They also told us the changing rooms were desperately in need of upgrading.

"As a listening council we have taken that on board, and we hope people will like what we have done with the slides which I think look amazing. We’ll also be able to share pictures of the changing rooms very soon.

"With improvements also ongoing at Halesowen Leisure Centre, and work progressing really quickly on the new centre in Dudley, we will soon have facilities in our borough that we can all be proud of."

Halesowen is in-line for a new look entrance, adventure play area and café. There will also be major changes to the swimming pool to cater for learner and advanced swimmers. The plans also include new ‘village style’ changing rooms, pool-side viewing area and a state-of-the-art fitness suite. Work is also well underway on the new £18.2 million Duncan Edwards Leisure centre in Dudley.

The plans are part of a wider major regeneration programme bringing over £1 billion investment to the town centre. The new leisure centre will benefit from excellent public transport links through the forthcoming adjacent Metro stop and the nearby bus Interchange. The new facility will include a 25 metre, eight-lane swimming pool and a teaching pool with spectator provision. There will be a four-court sports hall suitable for indoor football, badminton and more.

The investment will also include a 100-station gym and fitness suite, two group exercise studios for a wide range of exercise classes and an immersive cycle studio.

For families with younger children there will be a soft play area with catering facilities and a party room, and a café open to all users of the centre. For those who want to relax after their workout session there’s set to be a sauna.

There will also be power-assisted gym equipment for specialist support which may be particularly beneficial for those recovering from injury, older customers and those living with long-term health conditions.