Club welcomes new members after £1.6m upgrade

A COUNTRY club near Mapledurham has seen an increase in members since it re-opened following a £1.6 million renovation.

The Club at Mapledurham in Chazey Heath has upgraded its facilities, including a refurbished pool, reception area, gym and a new spa.

The renovations began in May and were completed last month, with work carried out in stages to ensure members could continue to use the club’s facilities throughout.

Following the work, the club, which is managed by the Club Company, a UK-based operator of health and country clubs, said it has seen an increase in new members.

It currently has almost 1,500 health members and more than 600 golf members that use its 18-hole course.

Martin Feltham, the golf operations manager, said: “The changing rooms were the first thing to be done and they were shut down and re-opened in July. Then we moved into the poolside area, there was a total refurb, and the swimming pool was emptied out and retiled.

“There is a new spa and the steam room and sauna has been redecorated as well and that re-opened in September. The reception area was knocked through and closed down for a month and re-opened last month.”

The refurbishment includes a glass pergola which has extended the café area.

Mr Feltham said: “It has a totally retractable roof and retractable windows, so in the summer it’s totally open.

“This club had not been refurbished for some years and the club company as a group is doing up a lot of its other clubs. This was long overdue and it was looking quite tired.” The club held an open day two weeks ago, which Mr Feltham said saw new members sign up.

He said: “Since the club has re-opened, we have signed up a lot of new members. Lots of members stuck with it while the work was going on, even when they couldn’t use the pool for eight weeks but we still had yoga classes and exercise classes going on. Members who did leave have ended up coming back when the work was done.”

Mr Feltham said that the club had a loyal base of users and had a reputation for being very welcoming.

He said: “The club has always been known in the area as very friendly and very sociable. People just come down here for lunch and a coffee, even if they are not using the facilities, everyone is welcome down here.

“We have very longstanding members who have been here since we opened in 1993 so there are a lot of people for whom this is part of their lives now, it’s like a second home to them.”