Multi-million pound new leisure centre for Wednesbury

A multi-million pound new leisure centre will be built in Wednesbury, council bosses have revealed.

Urgent plans are being drawn up for a new swimming pool complex in Wednesbury to replace the current ageing centre. It will be built on the same site.

The move follows the closure for the last six months of Wednesbury Leisure Centre's two pools for maintenance work, including associated asbestos removal.

During routine repairs to the filtration system at the pools, inspections found significant maintenance and structural problems. These have put the facility beyond economic repair.

Council chiefs say they will now fast-track the building of a new centre – and have asked deputy leader Councillor Steve Eling and the working group delivering the new Tipton and West Bromwich pools to take this forward.

It comes just weeks after it was announced that a new £15million leisure centre will be built in the heart of Smethwick. The council plans to build the new modern complex on the site of the current Harry Mitchell Centre, on Broomfield.

It will replace the four centres currently serving Smethwick residents.

Speaking of the latest plans, Councillor Eling said: "We will be able to provide a modern, energy-efficient centre which can give people in Wednesbury new, high- quality facilities to replace the current pools, which are around 40 years old.

"This is the value-for- money option for the future.

"The working group will now plan the design, cost and timescale for the new leisure centre. In the meantime, people in Wednesbury can continue to use Tipton Swimming Centre for public swimming." The cost of the scheme and the timetable for the new facilities will be released at a later date.