Officials backing proposals for sports centre on car park site

PLANS to create a multi-million pound sports centre on the site of a car park in Huddersfield are being recommended for approval by council officials.

Kirklees Council is looking to replace the existing sports centre in Southgate, which is now outdated and needs massive investment to be brought up to modern standards.

Council chiefs want to build a new centre at the site of Spring Grove car park, Springwood, in the town. The plans will be discussed by members of the authority's planning sub-committee on Thursday.

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Officers are recommending that councillors back the plans subject to conditions being met but objectors have raised a number of concerns.

The site is presently a long-stay car park with 443 spaces and objectors are concerned about the loss of so many spaces.

They also think the centre should be built on a site closer to the town centre.

Huddersfield Civic Society is concerned that access to the sports centre via an improved underpass "still appears uninviting and as such possibly dangerous for women and children".

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The centre will include a range of facilities including a 25-metre swimming pool, a teaching pool, sports halls, climbing wall, squash and martial arts facilities, a large fitness suite, indoor bowling and a cafe and children's area, changing and spectator areas.

The estimated cost is 36m with a substantial amount of money coming from the council selling land to Tesco for a new store at Southgate.

A report to members of the committee said the council had entered into a development agreement with the supermarket giant..

"This agreement, which is subject to relevant planning permissions being obtained, would result in Tesco acquiring the existing sports centre site and adjoining land, however the Tesco facility would not become available until the proposed new sports centre is operational," it said.

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The report adds that there is a current application for a new retail store and petrol station on the existing sports centre site at Southgate, which will be brought to the committee for consideration at a later date.

Officers say in the report that the issue of a loss of parking provision has been considered separately and efforts are under way to redistribute spaces between existing and new or under-used sites throughout the town centre.

Once this is complete, there should be an overall increase of 115 in the number of spaces.

It is hoped that the scheme would have major regeneration benefits for key sites near the Huddersfield ring road, as well as promoting health and well-being among local communities and attracting new visitors to the town.

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Council officers have estimated that the centre would attract between 30 and 50 per cent more users compared with the existing centre, which has about 500,000 visitors per year.

Earlier Coun Mehboob Khan, the leader of Kirklees Council, said: "These new facilities would be a huge boost for Huddersfield, attracting visitors into the town centre from far and wide.

"There is a very clear need to replace the existing sports centre, which is coming to the end of its natural life – it has a high risk of pool tank failure, is an increasing liability for local taxpayers and our consultation shows that many people are put off by the dated facilities.

"We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We can provide Huddersfield with a wonderful base for people to enjoy themselves and get active as part of a healthy lifestyle."