Green light given to £24 million Dudley leisure centre plan
Ambitious plans for a new leisure centre and the revamp of two others in the Dudley borough have been back by council bosses.
The new facility will be built on Flood Street in Dudley, while Stourbridge and Halesowen leisure centres will refurbished under a £24.5 million scheme.
The plans were backed by Dudley Council's cabinet at its latest meeting.
Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley said: "This scheme will massively improve leisure facilities in the borough.
"After the dithering by the Labour administration I'm proud our administration (the Conservatives) are delivering this."
Dudley's current leisure centre on Wellington Road will be demolished once the new site is finished, but will remain open while the work takes place.
Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge and Halesowen Leisure Centre will be revamped and modernised, with users of both facilities set to face disruption while work takes place.
However council planners said they have earmarked the work to take place in phases to minimise the impact.
Both centres will feature refurbished pools, new gym facilities, new changing rooms, new cafes and a facelift.
Building work on the new leisure centre is set to start in April 2019 and will take 12 months.
A planning application is required before work can begin and will need backing by the council's planning committee. However councillor Harley does not expect this to be 'contentious'.
The new site will feature a 25-metre swimming pool with eight lanes, a smaller learning pool, changing facilities, a sports hall with five courts, a 100-station gym, two studios, viewing areas and a cafe.
Some funding will be provided by Sport England.
The current Wellington Road site will make way for residential housing.
Work at Stourbridge will begin in July this year, with refurbishment to start in April 2019 lasting for 12 months.
At Halesowen work is set to start a year later, with refurbishments starting in April 2020 also lasting for 12 months.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Labour Councillor Hilary Bills said Halesowen Leisure Centre does not have family changing facilities, which causes problems for users.
But Councillor Harley said planners will be looking at that issue during the refurbishment.
