Work on new leisure centre set to begin

Work on a new leisure centre in Bramcote is set to start in a matter of weeks, councillors have confirmed.

Broxtowe Borough Council's planning committee approved designs for a new building in January. It will replace the existing leisure centre in Derby Road.

Deputy leader of the council, Greg Marshall, said the existing site will be kept open while the new centre is built, adding work will begin "towards the end of September this year [or] the beginning of October".

The news was welcomed by users of the pool.

Kirsten Rawson, chair of Bramcote Swimming Club, said: "It's fantastic news to finally be getting the new facility.

"The staff are working really hard to try and keep the pool running - the club is in the water seven days a week, so it's a really important thing for us."

Before approval was given for the project, the designs had been modified to make the pool deeper and include a spectator area.

Marshall said the modifications came after "a couple of issues" were raised when speaking to local groups.

"The original designs we had didn't quite meet the needs of the swimming club and some of the synchronised swimmers, so we went back to the table and redesigned that, so that took a bit of time," he said.

"Then of course it takes a bit of time to put the funding package together, to grind the wheels of local government and get that through the budget, so we're delighted now to finally get that over the line."

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