New £25 million leisure centre in the pipeline for Dudley
A new £25 million leisure centre boasting an eight-lane swimming pool could be built in the heart of Dudley town centre, it has been revealed.
Bosses have revealed details an an option being explored as they seek to find the best way forward over its controversial plans for the borough's leisure centres.
The authority was forced to back down over proposals to close its existing leisure centres and build two new facilities following a fierce backlash but chiefs remain committed to improving facilities.
It has been suggested the state-of-the-art facility could be built in Flood Street, near the eyesore Cavendish House office block, to bring it closer to the bus station, which is set to undergo a major renovation over the next few years.
Council bosses will launch a consultation over how best to improve leisure centres, which they say are 'outdated'.
Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for regeneration, said one of the options on the table is to build the new site, which would also include a secondary 'learning' pool and facilities for other sports such as badminton.
He hit back at critics of the council's plans for leisure centres at a full council meeting on Monday night, insisting improvements were needed as soon as possible.
He said: "As a council we are always looking at how we can improve the facilities that we have in the borough and that we all use.
"The reality is that our leisure centres are not fit for purpose, are old, outdated, tired and run down. They are expensive to run and cost the tax payer nearly £2 million per year in subsidy and need to have a further £3.2 million invested in them to ensure that they continue to operate, which still would not give us the up to date and modern facilities that we all want to see.
"We intend to have further cross-party discussions to explore the possibility of starting work on a new leisure facility in the heart of the town centre which can be combined with the redevelopment of Dudley bus station, the new metro interchange, Cavendish House and the Flood Street area."
Dudley Council chiefs now say they favour keeping three leisure centres in Dudley, Stourbridge and Halesowen but remain keen to rebuild at least one and potentially refurbishing the other two.
