Huddersfield centre designs unveiled
Kirklees Council has unveiled the initial designs for a proposed new leisure centre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
The £26m complex will be built on the Spring Grove car park in Springwood, and will form part of a wider regeneration project which includes the relocation of a Tesco supermarket to the site of the existing sports centre in Southgate. Proposals for the new centre, which is scheduled to open in Spring 2012, include a leisure water attraction incorporating a 'sidewinder' feature, as well as a flume, a wave machine and a lazy river.
Other facilities at the site will include a 25m, eight-lane swimming pool, a teaching pool with moveable floor, a large sports hall and a specialist sports hall, as well as squash courts, a martial arts room, a climbing wall and changing facilities. A 150-station fitness suite and a dance studio are also set to form part of the new centre, along with a cafe, a children's activity area and a multi-purpose room.
The designs, which were developed by international architects, Aedas, and engineering firm, Arup, were put on public display in December. A planning application is expected to be submitted in March. Liz Smaje, Kirklees Council's cabinet member for leisure, said: "There will be very few towns and cities anywhere in the country that will be able to offer the range and quality of sports and leisure facilities that will be available at the new centre.
"We have looked at many options for the mix of features for the leisure water centre. I think the ones proposed will make the new centre a regional attraction because of some of the unique features it will have." As well as the new centre and the relocation of the Tesco supermarket, the wider regeneration scheme will also include a hotel, retail and housing development on the site of the existing Tesco site at Viaduct Street.