• The leisure centre in Hood Park now has a new name and has been rebranded

• The move is to include Ashby in the name and raise its profile

• Swimming star Ross Davenport and Derby County's women's team captain Hannah Ward came along

• Ashby's Mayor Cllr Rita Manning unveiled the new signage at the centre

• Everyone Active run the venue and want to promoted the £1.2million overhaul of the gym and lido

• Ashby has the only public open air lido in the East Midlands and it dates back to 1929

The rebranded Ashby Leisure Centre & Lido was officially launched on Saturday - with dignitaries and sports personalties backing the redeveloped facility to be a big success.

Swimming star Ross Davenport formed part of the unveiling at the Hood Park venue which now has a new name as part of a move to raise its profile by including 'Ashby' in the name.

You can see a video of the unveiling above.

Ross won double gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 37-year-old was joined by Everyone Active in partnership with North West Leicestershire District Council.

A World Championship silver medallist in 2008, Ross also took on a four-strong relay team of juniors from Coalville Swimming Club in a four-length race in the lido, with the result declared a dead heat.

The last remaining public lido in the East Midlands, the outdoor pool area has enjoyed a number of upgrades, with a beach play area and beach hut catering among the improvements added.

Ross told Ashby Nub News: "Every time the sun shines, I always google where to go for a swim outdoors.

"we had such good weather last year, but due to the circumstances and due to the redevelopment of the leisure centre, it was closed.

"So to come here for the renaming was a joy.

"The Lido is so inviting and the local community are so fortunate to have this on their doorstep, they can be physically active have some family time and start to learn a life skill.

"After the lockdown, people are wanting to get out and be outdoors, and swimming is one of the activities you probably haven't been able to do much of during lockdown. You can cycle and you can walk and you can run.

"But because the majority of the pools are indoors, you've not really been able to get into them. As a sporting sector it's been hit massively.

"But here, you're in the outdoors, you're in the fresh air and it goes back 92 years, the history and the heritage is here. Right down to the changing rooms. It's just brilliant that it's here."

Ashby Mayor Rita Manning pulled the cord to unveil the new sign and she says the new facility will only add to the town's reputation.

She said: "They've spent a lot of money here and it's well worth it, Ashby deserves a good leisure facility, and the idea of renaming it tells everybody where the Leisure Centre is.

"People have maybe thought, 'When it's really hot, where can we go'? But this will let people know where it is and advertise it.

"It's perfect for the school holidays which have now started. Plus there's lots more to do in the facility, it's not just a pool and it's not just adults there's lots of children's events going on as well.

"A lot of children get involved in karate down here, and it gets quite busy.

"There is the gym facility, and there's everything you could want in one place. It seems to be extremely well organised.

"A lot of locals will probably still call it Hood Park, but Ashby says where it is and tells visitors to the town where it is.

"People who come into Ashby maybe won't know about this, but if they go onto the website they'll see it and know they can come here.

"People do come to Ashby and stay in the area. It's such a nice town and if they know these facilities are here, they'll use them."

Everyone Active's contract manager, Duncan Gibb, said: "We were really pleased with how the day went and hope the renaming will help to increase awareness of the lido outside the immediate area.

"We would encourage anyone who wishes to visit to get in touch and I'm sure they will really appreciate the changes that have been made."

A spokesman for Everyone Active said a lot of work had gone into the design of the new-look Leisure Centre and addressed social media criticism that a paddling pool had been replaced by children's sandpit.

He said: "The Lido is something the town can be proud of.

"The whole area has been refreshed, we have a beach area up at the top and lots of equipment which has proved popular with kids.

"We have a cafe area with provision for drinks and snacks.

"Hopefully it will raise awareness of the Lido, not just in Ashby but in the wider area. And encourage people to know but it's here and they can visit.

"The previous name did not offer a clue as to where it was if you didn't already know.

"We are hopeful that people will be drawn to it and enjoy it for many years ahead.

"This isn't something that is just been done on the fly there was a consultation process, and to be really honest, and discussing it at length with different customers, over a number of years, whenever we spoke to them about things to change, a play area and sandpit was very often brought up.

"There was a formal consultation process and we went through all the proper channels, and the feedback we've had from people, you only have to look at our Facebook page to see how much people are enjoying it.

And people on the site are giving us great feedback as well.

"When people visit here and see what we've done, they are very impressed with it, so come on down, use the facilities and see what you think. I think people will love it here. If you want to swim, we've got it all here."