Last week the council's plans for a new leisure centre at Oswald Park were submitted to its own planning committee which will almost certainly be dissolved by the time the centre is completed at the end of next year.
The new centre, which will inc
lude a main pool and learner pool, fitness suite, sauna and steam room and two large sports halls, will be situated in the next field to the current leisure centre which was opened by the then Princess Anne in 1978 and which has now long passed its predicted 25-year lifespan.
The council will be hoping the centre keeps going for just a bit longer as it has been agreed that it would not be worth spending vast amounts of money to keep it open in the event of a major failure.
Also in the Oswald Park plans are a cafe and creche along with meeting rooms and offices, while outside there will be grassed sports area, room for a BMX area and a landscaped walking trail.
Two additional phases could provide sports pitches and an all-weather pitch, but this is dependent on additional funding which is difficult to obtain in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics.
The council has 13 weeks to decide the application.
The full article contains 235 words and appears in Border Counties Advertizer newspaper.
