Norman Centre
4.7 from 65 Google reviews · Norwich, NR3 2QZ
4.6score
Council runIndependentOpen lateMartial arts
Who runs what
Who runs what
- Alive West Norfolk, the borough council's own arm, covers King's Lynn and West Norfolk: Alive Lynnsport, St James Pool, Alive Downham and The Oasis at Hunstanton.
- Everyone Active holds all six North Norfolk district sites: The Reef at Sheringham, Victory Swim and Fitness Centre and North Walsham Sports Centre, Fakenham Sports and Fitness Centre, Cromer Sports Centre and Stalham Sports Centre.
- Places Leisure runs one site in Norwich, Riverside on Wherry Road. The Norman Centre at Mile Cross is run by Norwich City Council itself, not by a contractor.
- Freedom Leisure took Great Yarmouth borough on a ten year contract from 2022, replacing Sentinel Leisure Trust. The £26m Marina Centre and the Phoenix Leisure Centre at Gorleston.
- Parkwood Leisure, trading as leisurecentre.com, holds Breckland: Dereham, Thetford's Breckland Leisure Centre and Waterworld, Swaffham and Attleborough.
- South Norfolk Council runs its five centres in house and says so deliberately, to put community benefit ahead of profit: Wymondham, Kett's Park, Long Stratton, Diss Swim Centre and Framingham Earl. 5,016 fitness members and over 900,000 visits a year as at July 2025.
- Watton Sports Association and Social Club runs Watton's centre independently, outside Breckland's contract.
- Active Norfolk is the county's Active Partnership, one of 42 in England. It commissions programmes and holds the activity data. It runs no gyms.
The operators
Every council leisure operator in Norfolk
Seven districts, six different operators and one that is not an operator at all.
| Operator | Area | How it works | Sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alive West Norfolk | King’s Lynn and West Norfolk | The borough council’s own leisure arm | Alive Lynnsport, Alive St James Pool, Alive Downham, The Oasis at Hunstanton |
| Everyone Active | North Norfolk | Contracted by North Norfolk District Council, all six sites | The Reef Sheringham, Victory Swim and Fitness, Fakenham Sports and Fitness, Cromer Sports Centre, North Walsham Sports Centre, Stalham Sports Centre |
| Places Leisure | Norwich | Contracted by Norwich City Council for one site | Riverside Leisure Centre |
| Norwich City Council | Norwich | Run in house | The Norman Centre and its Xtra Mile gym |
| Freedom Leisure | Great Yarmouth borough | Ten year contract from 2022, replacing Sentinel Leisure Trust | Marina Centre, Phoenix Leisure Centre at Gorleston |
| Parkwood Leisure | Breckland | Trading publicly as leisurecentre.com | Dereham, Breckland Leisure Centre and Waterworld at Thetford, Swaffham, Attleborough |
| South Norfolk Council | South Norfolk | Run in house as South Norfolk Leisure, five sites | Wymondham Leisure Centre, Kett’s Park, Long Stratton, Diss Swim Centre, Framingham Earl |
| Watton Sports Association | Watton | Independent and community run, outside the Breckland contract | Watton Sports Centre |
| Active Norfolk | County wide | Not an operator. Norfolk’s Active Partnership, funded by Sport England | Runs programmes and holds the data. It runs no gyms |
On our list
Council run venues we have logged
Long Stratton Leisure Centre
4.6 from 146 Google reviews · Long Stratton, NR15 2UY
4.6score
Council runOpens by 6amIndependentOpen late
Framingham Earl Sports Centre
4.6 from 36 Google reviews · Poringland, NR14 7QP
4.5score
Council runIndependentOpen late
Lynnsport
4.5 from 752 Google reviews · King’s Lynn, PE30 2NB
4.5score
Council runIndependentOpen latePool
Fakenham Sports & Fitness Centre
4.5 from 143 Google reviews · Fakenham, NR21 9HL
4.5score
4.5 from 143 reviews. Run by Everyone Active for North Norfolk District Council.
Council runIndependent
Cromer Academy Gym & Sports Centre
4.5 from 38 Google reviews · Cromer, NR27 0EX
4.5score
4.5 from 38 reviews. Everyone Active’s Cromer site, and the town has no pool.
Council runIndependent
Wymondham Leisure Centre
4.4 from 497 Google reviews · Wymondham, NR18 0NT
4.4score
Council runOpens by 6amIndependentOpen late
Alive Downham Leisure
4.4 from 272 Google reviews · Downham Market, PE38 9LL
4.4score
ChainCouncil runOpen latePool
Victory Swim and Fitness Centre
4.3 from 222 Google reviews · North Walsham, NR28 0DZ
4.3score
4.3 from 222 reviews. The town’s pool, run by Everyone Active for the district.
Council runIndependentOpen latePool
Sportspark
4.3 from 1298 Google reviews · Norwich, NR4 7TJ
4.3score
Council runIndependentOpen latePool
North Walsham Sports Centre
4.2 from 36 Google reviews · North Walsham, NR28 9HZ
4.3score
4.2 from 36 reviews. The second Everyone Active site in the same town.
Council runIndependent
Stalham Sports Centre
4.1 from 26 Google reviews · Wroxham, NR12 9DG
4.2score
Council runIndependent
Diss Swim Centre
4 from 16 Google reviews · Diss, IP22 4JG
4.2score
4.0 from 16 reviews. Run in house by South Norfolk Council, £4.2m refurbishment in 2025.
Council runOpens by 6amIndependentOpen late
The Reef Leisure Centre
4.2 from 211 Google reviews · Sheringham, NR26 8WD
4.2score
4.2 from 211 reviews. North Norfolk’s flagship: 25m six lane pool, 70 station gym.
Council runIndependentOpen latePool
St James Swimming Pool
4.2 from 339 Google reviews · King’s Lynn, PE30 1NN
4.2score
Council runOpens by 6amIndependentOpen late
Dereham Leisure Centre
4.2 from 510 Google reviews · Dereham, NR19 1DF
4.2score
4.2 from 510 reviews, the biggest review base of any council site in Norfolk.
Council runOpens by 6amIndependentOpen late
Phoenix Leisure Centre
4.1 from 327 Google reviews · Great Yarmouth, NR31 8JU
4.1score
Council runIndependentPool
Swaffham Leisure Centre
4 from 62 Google reviews · Swaffham, PE37 7DY
4.1score
Council runIndependentPool
Breckland Leisure Centre & Waterworld
4.1 from 798 Google reviews · Thetford, IP24 1JD
4.1score
Council runOpens by 6amIndependentOpen late
Attleborough Sports Hall
3.8 from 25 Google reviews · Attleborough, NR17 2AF
4.1score
Council runIndependentOpen late
Alive Oasis
4 from 383 Google reviews · Hunstanton, PE36 5BD
4.0score
ChainCouncil run
Riverside Leisure Centre
3.9 from 557 Google reviews · Norwich, NR1 1WX
3.9score
Council runIndependentPool
Marina Leisure Centre
3.9 from 1008 Google reviews · Great Yarmouth, NR30 2ER
3.9score
Council runIndependentOpen latePool
Gym Equipment
Not rated on Google yet · Norwich, NR3 2RS
Newunrated
Council runIndependent
Wentworth Pool and Sauna
4.9 from 139 Google reviews · Norwich, NR2 2HX
4.8score
4.9 from 139 reviews. A private pool and sauna with early and late listed hours.
Opens by 6amIndependentOpen latePool
Langley Grange Indoor Pool
4.9 from 52 Google reviews · Poringland, NR14 6BL
4.7score
4.9 from 52 reviews. A private indoor pool at Poringland, hired rather than joined.
IndependentPool
Wroxham Pool Hire
4.9 from 43 Google reviews · Wroxham, NR12 8SH
4.7score
4.9 from 43 reviews. A Broads pool hired by the hour rather than joined.
IndependentPoolWeekdays only
Pearls Pool
4.8 from 93 Google reviews · Poringland, NR14 7ER
4.7score
IndependentPool
The Nest
4.7 from 431 Google reviews · Aylsham, NR10 3AQ
4.7score
4.7 from 431 reviews, the largest review base in Aylsham, with a pool and late hours.
IndependentOpen late
Heywood Sports & Fitness
4.9 from 28 Google reviews · Diss, IP22 4DB
4.7score
4.9 from 28 reviews. A sports complex near Diss with a pool and late listed hours.
IndependentOpen late
Norfolk
What they publish, and what they will not
Three operators publish a rate you can read without handing over an email address. Three do not.
- South Norfolk Leisure publishes everything: £36 a month by direct debit for all five centres plus a £15 joining fee, concession £28.20, Active Seniors 65 plus £30.40, student £24.40, single site at Framingham Earl £30.90. Pay as you go gym or class is £8.25 to £9.35, swim £6.60 to £7.60.
- Everyone Active at The Reef, Sheringham publishes four tiers: £21.99, £31.99, £39.99 and £49.98 a month.
- Alive West Norfolk publishes pay as you go fitness classes at £10.40, £7.80 with a discount card and £5.20 concession.
- Freedom Leisure, Parkwood Leisure and Alive West Norfolk monthly rates are not published. All three gate the figure behind a join now flow. We will not guess at them, and you should ask for the joining fee, the minimum term and the notice period in the same phone call.
Norfolk
The gaps worth knowing about
Provision is not spread evenly, and two districts have holes a listing site should say out loud.
- Broadland appears to operate no district leisure centre of its own. If you live in Aylsham, Reepham or Brundall, your options are community run, private or a drive into Norwich.
- King's Lynn and West Norfolk has two community-accessible sports halls for 154,300 residents, one per 75,623 people, across roughly 556 square miles. The borough's own June 2025 facilities strategy records that the population in the north of the borough is more than 20 minutes' driving time from one, and that the Hunstanton sub-area, 28,316 people, has none.
- Cromer has a sports centre but no pool of its own. The district pool is The Reef at Sheringham, three miles west.
- Watton sits inside Breckland but outside Breckland's contract, so do not assume a Parkwood membership works there. Ask first.
Questions
What people ask us
Who runs the leisure centres in Norfolk?
Six organisations. Alive West Norfolk in King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Everyone Active across North Norfolk, Places Leisure at Riverside in Norwich, Freedom Leisure in Great Yarmouth borough, Parkwood Leisure in Breckland, and South Norfolk Council in house. Watton's centre is independent of all of them.
Does Broadland District Council run a leisure centre?
We could not confirm one. Aylsham and the surrounding villages are served by community and private sites rather than a district centre.
What does a Norfolk leisure centre membership cost?
South Norfolk publishes £36 a month plus a £15 joining fee for all five of its centres. Everyone Active at The Reef publishes tiers of £21.99, £31.99, £39.99 and £49.98. Freedom Leisure, Parkwood and Alive do not publish monthly rates.
Is Active Norfolk a leisure operator?
No. It is the county's Active Partnership, funded by Sport England and partners. It commissions programmes and holds activity data, and it runs no gyms.
Can I use one membership at several centres?
It depends entirely on the operator. South Norfolk's standard membership covers all five of its centres. Ask any other operator directly, and ask specifically about Watton, which is outside the Breckland contract.