Potential site found for new sports centre
MELTON’S new sports centre could be built on land at the former site of King Edward VII School.
The proposal was made by Bryon Rhodes, Leicestershire County Councillor and leader of Melton Council, at a community partnership meeting held on Thursday.
Mr Rhodes said: “Leicestershire County Council is looking at making available land on the King Edward site for the new sports centre although nothing is set in stone yet.
“It would however, be a central location for residents and provide the possibility of merging both the new sports centre and King Edward’s existing sports and gym facilities.”
The project to deliver a new sports centre for Melton has now entered its second phase.
An initial consultation to assess need has been completed and Melton Council is now consulting with clubs, non-users and community groups and other leisure providers in the borough.
Melton Council has also committed £30,000 to conduct the work which is needed before any plans can be drawn up and grant applications made.
Councillor Pam Posnett said: “We are looking around to identify all potential sites for the sports centre and nothing has been agreed on yet.
“What is clear is that we want to create a state-of-the-art leisure centre that will last and can be a flexible, multi- purpose and adaptable space that attracts visitors from across the county and is run on commercial lines without relying on the taxpayer.”
It is hoped that some of the funding for the project will be sourced from sports grants and the working group is looking at putting in a bid for funding to Sport England as well as other national sporting associations. The hope is that funding will also be sourced locally and that the community will get behind the plans to organise fundraisers for the centre.
Councillor Posnett said: “We have a lot of ideas floating around at the minute, many of which have come from members of the public, and they all sound great, we’re really aiming for the sky.
“Our main focus to begin with will be to look at providing dry sports facilities as Melton already benefits from the pool at Waterfield Leisure Centre.
“There have been various suggestions including a full size football pitch, squash courts, a dance hall with a spring floor for gymnastics and a sports hall with retractable seats, which will not only allow sports championships to take place but can also double us as an ideal location for concerts. We are also looking at the idea of setting up a climbing wall, jogging and cycle track.
“We would also like the centre to include some kind of health facility where people can go for nutritional advice, GP referrals and so on.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Melton
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
