The much talked about Wentworth Bowl project at Wentworth Leisure Centre is now well under way with contracts recently signed with Qubica AMF who will be installing the lanes and all bowling equipment and project managers Creatability, to begin work onsite this September. Building work is expected to last four months.

The project will see the construction of an eight lane ten pin bowling alley, aimed to offer a new activity to Hexham which people of all ages can enjoy. The works will also include building a new café area, serving Wentworth Bowl and Jungle Jack's Adventure Soft Play, with additional seating outside of these areas where customers can enjoy a meal, snack or light refreshment.

Exciting news for parents with younger children is that the popular Jungle Jack's Adventure Soft Play Area will also be refurbished. Since it opened in 2003, over 75,000 separate visits have seen children battling through the jungle, which has inevitably led to some wear and tear. The soft play café area is to be extended and redecoration and repairs will be carried out including a small extension to the soft play area itself. As part of the party packages on offer for ten pin bowling, new soft play parties will also be introduced to include a balloon and party bag for each guest and a photograph with Jack the Monkey himself for the birthday child.

Centre Manager Geoff Cant is looking forward to the project starting: "It's exciting to be involved in something which is completely new to Hexham, especially so soon after the completion of the £10 million extension to Wentworth in 2008. Not only will this be a great facility for attracting local users and tourists to the centre, it will also introduce some new jobs to the town, with posts being advertised from September."

There will be some disruption to normal service in the café and soft play areas as work progresses and advance notice will be given to customers. No other parts of the building will be affected and café @ leisure in the main reception area will be open all day.

The new Wentworth Bowl will include coaching sessions for new starters, league play for more competitive bowlers and reserved lanes at different times of the day for over 50s, after school users and special events. Use by people with disabilities has been a priority when looking at the layout of the café and access to the lanes. Ball ramps will be available to aid play and specialist equipment for those people who have difficulty using the traditional finger holes to hold the bowling balls will also be provided.

To add even more variation to the sessions available, 'Glow Bowling' will also be a feature at Wentworth Bowl where by balls, pins, chairs etc will literally glow in the dark with the use of fluorescent lighting, with lanes edged with LED lights. This enables sessions to be changed at the flick of a switch and has proved popular in larger bowling alleys. There will also be a special glow bowl league within the opening programme.

Contrary to many people's perceptions of bowling venues, Wentworth Bowl will not include intrusive, arcade gaming style units which it was felt could disrupt the environment in the café area and be a distraction during play. Instead there will be a pool table and air hockey game for people to play on before or after their game, which as an additional feature will glow in the dark during glow bowl sessions.

"This is not going to be your typical loud, noisy, 'Americanized' style of bowling which we know some local people have been concerned about." said Director of Operations, Darren Lamb. "We have worked hard with architects and interior designers to create the practical, stylish look and feel we want to achieve and the final designs lay testament to that. Think Costa Coffee not Blackpool Pleasure Beach!"

A display showing the final design will be available soon in the centre's reception area and this will also be published on the North Country Leisure website.

Wentworth is currently running a competition within the centre and on their website to win a free lane for the winner and their friends at a preview night of Wentworth Bowl, taking place prior to opening to the public.