Olympic and World Champion Swimmer, Keri-Anne Payne, has given her seal of approval to the now open Heywood Sports Village.

Over two thousand people flocked through the doors during the pre-opening weekend to take a look around the new £10.4 million new sports complex that opened to the public on 20th September.

Special guest Keri-Anne took time out from her busy training schedule for the Delhi Commonwealth Games to launch the new pool. After a tour of the facilities she said, "I think the complex here is amazing. It's so brilliant - so many different rooms and so many different things. And I'm very happy there is a nice 6 lane 25 metre pool here that I can use when I'm at home."

Keri-Anne was also presented with her 'Wall of Fame' Star which will appear in the Sports Village alongside that of Heywood's Commonwealth gold medal winning swimmer, Christine Gaskell, after whom the former Gaskell Pool on the same site was named.

Delighted with the feedback received, Link4Life Managing Director Craig McAteer said, "The response from everyone has been overwhelmingly positive." Chief Executive of New Heart for Heywood, Vicki Devonport added, "It's great to see so many people so very happy with the building. It is an inspirational design and the community will be very proud of what has been achieved here."

This is the second of two new multi-million pound sport and leisure complexes to be launched in the last eighteen months by Keri-Anne Payne as part of a £34 million investment programme in sport and leisure in the borough being spearheaded by Rochdale Borough Council and Link4Life. The £14 million Middleton Arena, which combines sport and leisure with a 500 seat auditorium, opened in January 2009. Work is due to start on site in November on a Sports Village-style facility for Rochdale.

Heywood Sports Village will be officially opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester in October.