Wolf Mountain moving into centre

A derelict Wolverhampton leisure centre which closed amid protests last year has been saved from the bulldozer under plans by a top tourist attraction to plough £500,000 into revamping it.

Wolf Mountain adventure centre, which has been battling to find a new home, has struck a landmark deal with Wolverhampton City Council. The climbing centre will move from its base at the Racecourse industrial estate to take over Compton Park Leisure Centre, which was shut down last year.

Julian Porter, co-owner of the business, said: "We've killed two birds with one stone really, because we have managed to find ourselves a new home and stop the leisure centre building from being demolished.

"It's in a fantastic location and we're very excited about it. We are investing £500,000 because we need to create a wall big enough for people to climb inside the building.

"We're also going to be able to expand our archery facilities and offer mountain biking. We hope the money will be worth it.

"We were getting desperate because the lease on our present site is due to run out by October and we were in a position of not being able to find anywhere to go."

The firm, which currently employs six full-time and 20 part-time staff, will recruit another six full-time workers when the new building is fully refurbished and open.

Compton Park Leisure Centre, in Paget Road, closed last summer after the city council said it was proving too costly.

Councillor Roger Lawrence said today: "I think it's an excellent use of that building and just shows that we have always wanted to get something up and running on the site."