PLANS to build a new sports centre at Springwood have moved forward.
Kirklees Council’s cabinet has agreed to enter into a contract with a construction firm.
The Cabinet has also approved Kirklees Active Leisure as the lease holder and operator of the £35.5m site.
Winning bidder, BAM construction, will begin work on the site early next year with completion expected by 2015.
The Hertfordshire based company has won awards for its work and is ranked 14 in the list of the UK’s top 60 Green companies.
It is also the leading contractor on the Sunday Times newspaper’s 100 Best Companies To Work For and has been awarded numerous accolades for “considerate construction”.
Some preparatory work has already been done on the site at Springwood, which is currently used for car parking.
The new facility is set to include a wave machine, a flume, a teaching pool, two large sports halls, a squash court, a fitness suite and a climbing wall.
Preparation work to Merton Street and Spring Grove Street are due to complete by the end of this month.
The current Huddersfield Sports Centre will be demolished and supermarket company Tesco will build a new store at the Old Leeds Road site.
The retail giant plans to knock down its current town centre store at Viaduct Street to make way for a hotel, offices, bars and apartments.
Yet, the whole scheme has been dogged by controversy with many people voicing their opposition to the Tesco plans.
But a planning inquiry has rejected the critics’ concerns.
Tesco will also make a contribution to the funding of the new sports centre but the proportion has not been revealed due to “commercial sensitivity”.
A Kirklees Council spokeswoman said the figure would be revealed later – when the new building appeared on the Land Registry.
