New swimming pool in Tipton will create 21 jobs

The new £8 million swimming pool which is taking shape in Tipton will create 21 new jobs, it has been revealed.

Contractor Willmott Dixon is building the development at the junction of Alexandra Road and Thursfield Road.

There will be 10 full and 11 part-time positions. The news comes after DC Leisure said it would create 145 jobs at the £11m leisure centre being built in West Bromwich. Council leader Councillor Darren Cooper said it showed the authority's borough-wide creation of new leisure facilities had a double advantage.

He said: "What we are trying to do, despite dimishing resources, is to regenerate areas with useful buildings as well as creating jobs.

"We are investing in much-wanted leisure facilities in Sandwell, looking after provision for thousands of people for years and we are creating at least 165 badly-needed jobs.

"It just shows there's a wealth of opportunity in Sandwell, despite cuts."

The new centre is already taking shape. It will eventually include a 25-metre six-lane main swimming pool, learner pool, gym, changing facilities, dance studio and community space, as well as a landscaped urban piazza.

It is scheduled to open in 2013 and will replace the Tipton Swimming Centre in Queens Road. The Tipton scheme is one of a number of similar schemes being developed in the borough.

In West Bromwich, the operation will employ 25 full-time and 120 part-time staff. The long-awaited scheme will be located near the new £10m West Bromwich police station at the junction of Moor Street and Bromford Lane.

A £15m site is also being proposed at the heart of Smethwick.

The council plans to build the new modern facility in place of the current Harry Mitchell Centre. It will replace Hadley Stadium, Smethwick Swimming Centre and Langley Baths, as well as the Harry Mitchell Centre.

Meanwhile, plans are being drawn up for a new swimming pool complex in Wednesbury to replace the current ageing centre.

* Local Businesses - Jee Jee's Punjabi Bar & Grill, Smethwick