Ely Leisure Centre Progresses

13 October 2010, 13:00 | Updated: 13 October 2010, 13:11

A new, multi-million pound leisure centre is a step closer to being built in Ely.

It will replace the Paradise Pools complex, which is expected to be too old and run down to use within five years.

The new complex [artists impression - top right] is expected to contain a 25 metre, six lane swimming pool, small children's leisure area and a six court sports hall.

Since the proposals were put out for public consultation, a number of changes to the design have been made.

These include making the car park bigger, creating an additional fitness area, more family changing rooms and a cover over the coach drop off area.

The new leisure centre is expected to be built in a location on the outskirts of Ely, and the designs for it have now been put forward for planning permission consideration.

Cllr Peter Cresswell, Chairman of the Community Services Committee, at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "It is really encouraging to see how the feedback from the public consultation has fed into the revised designs for the proposed new Leisure complex.

It goes to show how much interest and support people from across East Cambridgeshire have for the plans that they took time to study the designs to tell us what they thought.

It is easy to be dismissive of the work which has taken place so far or worry about how the funding for the centre will be found without really thinking about why we are progressing with the project.

It is clear that if we fail to plan for the future the health of our residents will be adversely affected as we have real concerns the Paradise Pool will be at the end of it’s lifespan in the next five years.

To do nothing would be ducking our responsibility for future generations."