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New Leisure Centre set for Approval
February 24, 2006 12:00 AM
New swimming facilities will be provided as part of Staveley's new leisure centre from the day it opens. The new 'healthy living leisure centre' at Barlow Road will replace the crumbling Middlecroft Leisure Centre, which is scheduled to close by the end of May, at the very latest, for health and safety reasons. The final go-ahead is expected to be given by the Council's Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday, March 7.
Cllr David Stone, Lib Dem Lead Member for Leisure, said: "From the day the decision to build a new centre was announced last November, we instructed our officers to explore whether the Council could find a way to build a 25 metre pool alongside the dry-side elements in a single phase construction option, as opposed to the 2-phase development. "We always said that we wanted Phase 2 to follow on as quickly as possible after Phase 1, subject to finance being available. And you can't get much quicker than at the same time! "We know that local people shared our desire to have a pool in the new centre as soon as possible, and we have visited other leisure centres and consulted with construction companies to see whether our limited financial resources could stretch to merging Phases 1 and 2. I am delighted to say that we have now been able to do this."
Work on site is due to start in January 2007, with construction likely to take a year. The new centre will cost £8m and will include a pool, 150-station fitness suite, health spa, indoor soft play arena, climbing wall, crèche and café bar. The Council will use a combination of cash from reserves, from asset sales and from borrowing and will continue its efforts to attract external funding towards the costs of developing the new leisure centre. Local residents have been kept informed of progress since November through the Staveley Community Forum and Staveley Neighbour- hood Management Board and consultations will continue with the residents and businesses of Staveley and its surrounding localities, including relevant community groups and organisations.
Council Leader, Cllr Ray Russell, said: "There has been some very ill-informed comment from various sources, showing scant regard for the facts. But of course we would never have had to consider a phased construction for the new sports centre had Sport England, a Government-funded body, not withdrawn £2m of lottery funding in 2003.
The facts are that Middlecroft Leisure Centre is in a rapidly deteriorating condition, is costing ever-increasing amounts of money to maintain and solely on health and safety grounds, has to close.
We can't put public safety at risk! Chesterfield Borough Council is committed to providing new leisure facilities at Staveley, to promote healthy lifestyles, as one of its top priorities."
The Council plans to hold an open day in Staveley in late March or early April to enable members of the public to see artists' impressions and schematic drawings of the new leisure centre, and learn more about the project.
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