Council plan for multi-million pound sports centre

Jul 8 2009 By Barry Gibson

HUDDERSFIELD could soon have a new, state-of-the-art sports centre.

Kirklees Council’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan for the multi-million pound centre on Spring Grove Car Park in Springwood.

The centre, which could be open by 2012, would include a leisure pool complete with wave machine, flume and sidewinder. There would also be a teaching pool, two large sports halls, a fitness suite and a children’s area.

The centre would include space for climbing, squash and martial arts as well.

The new centre is part of a massive redevelopment planned for Huddersfield town centre.

The current sports centre on Southgate would be demolished, along with the Ibbotson and Lonsbrough flats, to make way for a new Tesco.

The retail giant would knock down its current supermarket at Viaduct Street, replacing it with housing, offices, shops and a hotel.

Kirklees said last night that a "substantial" part of the £36.2m cost of the new sports centre at Springwood would come from selling land at Southgate to Tesco.

Council leader Clr Mehboob Khan welcomed the sports centre plan. He said: "Having healthy and active citizens is very important to us. This our chance to give Huddersfield a superb new sports centre of which it can be proud."

Clr Khan added that the current sports centre was no longer viable. He said: "Huddersfield needs these new facilities because the Southgate site is coming to the end of its useful life and is a growing liability for local taxpayers.