First non-schools project procured through a LEP
12 August 2008
Leeds City Council's press release:
Green light for £33m Leeds leisure centres
Leeds is to have two brand-new leisure centres after final agreements were secured this week on the historic £33m project for Armley and Morley.
Construction work on the new centres is now cleared to begin after Leeds City Council received formal approval from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and contracts were signed with the Local Education Partnership and contractors Interserve.
The DCMS have approved credits worth £30m for the project, £27m of which will be used for construction costs and the remainder plus an additional £3m from Leeds City Council will be used for future maintenance costs and to manage the project over the next 25 years.
The contractors have begun preparatory work at Armley and this week move on to the Morley site.
The new Morley Leisure Centre is to be built on the site of the current centre on Scatcherd Park and will have a 25m main swimming pool, a 10m learner pool, a 150-station Bodyline gym, a six-court sports hall, a four-court sports hall, a multi-activity hall and a dance studio plus cafe. The current Morley Leisure Centre closed in July and is to be demolished to make way for the new facilities.
At Armley the new centre is to be built on land adjacent to the current site on Carr Croft and will feature a main 25-metre swimming pool and a 10-metre learner pool. There will also be a hydrotherapy pool, 100-station Bodyline gym, four-court sports hall, two-court sports hall, dance studio and a cafe. As the new centre is to be built next to the current site, the existing
Armley Leisure Centre will remain open during the initial phase of construction before closing in approximately 12 months’ time.
The two centres are to be constructed through the Private Finance Initiative, with the facilities mix for both decided following detailed consultation with the public and stakeholders since the proposals were first outlined in May 2006.
The new centres are due to open by summer 2010, and Leeds City Council Executive Member for Leisure Councillor John Procter said: "We are delighted to have been able to attract this level of investment which demonstrates the council's ability to deliver large-scale projects despite the current financial difficulties the whole country is experiencing.
"We are thrilled that we can now get on and begin building these superb new centres in Armley and Morley. It has been a long and complex road to get to this point, so we wish to thank everyone for their support and patience in helping to make this project happen.
"On the back of other recently-completed major projects like The Carriageworks, John Smeaton Leisure Centre and the soon-to-be-open Leeds City Museum, this news further underlines our ongoing commitment to improving leisure facilities in the city."
For further information on the PFI project, please visit the website at www.leeds.gov.uk/newleaf
