Waterlooville's Horizon gym reopens after £500,000 charity-funded refurbishment

A £500,000 rebuild on Waterberry Drive

The gym at Horizon Leisure Centre in Waterlooville is back in use after a £500,000 refurbishment, with the charitable trust that runs the site saying the work was funded exclusively from its own resources.

The gym floor on Waterberry Drive closed on Thursday 6 August and reopened at 6am on Friday 28 August — dates Horizon confirmed in advance and which The News, Portsmouth reported in July. Swimming, classes and the rest of the centre carried on as normal throughout, and members were offered use of the gym at Horizon Havant while the work was under way.

What members will find

The project went well beyond a change of kit. The News reported that it covered new flooring, lighting, sound and décor alongside a redesign of how the building's three gym levels are used.

New cardio equipment has gone in on the mid floor, the ground floor has had a full strength upgrade, and the free weights area has been refreshed with new racks and a new layout. The top floor now has a 10-metre sprint track, plus self-powered cardio and functional equipment, and there is a dedicated glute training zone.

The equipment comes from Horizon's wellness partner, Pulse Fitness. According to The News it includes low-impact elevation treadmills, curved slat treadmills, stepmills and air bikes, pin-selected strength machines and plate-loaded machines such as hack squats and hip thrusts, along with Olympic benches and multiple half racks. A functional rig, prowler sleds and plyo boxes complete the fit-out.

An Olympian cuts the ribbon

The reopening was marked with a launch attended by invited guests, local sporting figures and Horizon customers, at which former Team GB Olympic swimmer Katy Sexton MBE cut the ribbon. Staff went head-to-head in a gym challenge on the new floor, and taster sessions ran so members could try the equipment.

Horizon Leisure chief executive Mike Lyons said: "We had a great day celebrating the new gym with our local community, staff and special guests. We are proud of what we have achieved with the refurbishment and the positive impact it will have on our customers."

He described the upgrade as "really comprehensive", adding that the "refreshed atmospheric lighting, fresh décor and modern flooring make the space feel welcoming and on-trend" and that "as a charity, our goal is to inspire healthier, happier lives, and that starts with creating spaces people love to be in".

The charity behind the centre

Horizon Leisure is a registered charity rather than a commercial gym chain — a point Mr Lyons made in a column published in The News in August, in which he wrote that he asks customers the question all the time and that the answer is almost always that they had no idea.

The trust runs gyms in Havant and Waterlooville as well as a wellbeing hub in Havant, and is overseen by a board of volunteer trustees. In the same column, Mr Lyons wrote that Horizon generated almost £10m in social value last year. That is the organisation's own figure and Waterlooville.co has not independently verified it.

Why it matters locally

Half a million pounds spent on a single gym floor is a substantial commitment in a town centre catchment where leisure provision competes with budget chains, and it is money committed by a charity answerable to trustees rather than by a national operator. For PO7 and PO8 members who trained at Horizon Havant during the closure, the practical point is simpler: the Waterberry Drive gym is open again.

Sources: The News, Portsmouth, 28 August 2026, Waterlooville's Horizon Leisure Centre reveals its new-look gym after £500,000 refurbishment; The News, Portsmouth, 21 July 2026, Dates confirmed for renovation of gym at Horizon Leisure Centre in Waterlooville; Mike Lyons, Horizon Leisure, column in The News, 14 August 2026, Horizon: The leisure company that gives back to the community as a charity.

Have we missed something? Contact the Waterlooville.co team.

Suggested first-touch email

Subject: Draft Waterlooville.co feature on your refurbished gym — for your factual check

Hello,

Waterlooville.co has prepared a draft feature about the reopening of the gym at Horizon Leisure Centre on Waterberry Drive following its £500,000 refurbishment. It is a draft only and has not been published.

We have based it on reporting in The News, Portsmouth and on Mike Lyons' August column, and we would like Horizon to check it for accuracy before we take it any further. If any detail is wrong — the spend, the dates, the equipment, the quotes or the charity information — please tell us and we will correct it.

If you would like the piece to carry a photograph, we would need one you hold the rights to, with permission to publish.

Thank you,
The Waterlooville.co team