Finishing touches to new spa

Apr 25 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

BUILDER Rok is helping to transform a health club into one of the most luxurious in the North East.

The company, which has nearly 300 staff in the North-East, is putting the finishing touches to a new £800,000 extension at Bannatyne’s Health Club in Darlington, which will see the addition of a new spa and beauty complex.

Once it is complete next month, Bannatyne’s Sensory Spa will include two floors of spa and beauty therapy facilities as well as a floor for fitness training, including pilates and yoga. Steve Allen, Exeter-based Rok’s area leader for the Tees Valley, said: “This is the first project we have worked on for Bannatyne Fitness and we are really pleased with the results. This spa is an outstanding leisure development and fits perfectly with the long-term development plans for this part of Darlington.”

The 3,400 sq ft extension, which will bring the entire complex up to 26,716 sq ft, will complement the site’s other facilities, including a gym and swimming pool. Nigel Armstrong, managing director at Bannatyne Fitness, said: “I have been impressed with Rok’s efficiency and the quality of its construction programme. With the opening of the extension, we will be able to offer a comprehensive range of facilities under one roof, which encapsulates fitness, personal beauty, rehabilitation and relaxation.”

The development is part of a number of projects that Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne has in mind for the North East this year.