THE heart of a seaside town beats once again following a major, multi-million pound revamp.

The £31m leisure and civic centre, in Redcar, boasts one of the region’s best equipped fitness suites as well as ultra-modern business facilities.

The completion of the Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council development, in Ridley Street, marks the conclusion of a £75m wider scheme to revive the town.

Council leader George Dunning said: “Delivering a project of this size and quality in these challenging times is nothing short of remarkable.

“Redcar and Cleveland now has the leisure, business and civic centre it deserves and one which will help drive the redevelopment of the entire borough.”

To mark the opening the council and its leisure service partners, Everyone Active, are hosting a free family fun day from 9.30am today (Saturday, April 26).

A number of Team GB stars will be in attendance as well as the European FlowRider champion, Quincy Vlijtig, who will hold workshops on the wave simulating machine.

Other leisure facilities include a six-lane 25m pool, a variable-depth teaching pool with hydraulic adjustable floor and a colourful beach style pool with play apparatus and water fountains.

Martin Miles, contract manager at Everyone Active, said: “Huge amounts of work have gone into this project which brings first class sport and leisure facilities to the borough.”

In addition to the leisure facilities architects have designed a separate civic and business hub, with facilities for small and medium sized enterprises.

Register services, the mayor’s parlour, a cafe and a council chamber, which doubles as a large conference or entertainment space, have also been provided.