Plans unveiled for £9.3m Newbury sports complex

New state-of-the-art club will open on grounds of Newbury Rugby Club on Monks Lane in December

THIS is what the new £9.3m state-of-the-art sports complex currently being built in Newbury will eventually look like.

The club, which will open in December 2015 on land bought from Newbury Rugby Club, will be operated by David Lloyd Leisure and will consist of indoor and outdoor heated swimming pools, two squash courts, eight tennis courts, two studios and 600sq m gym space.

Other facilities will include a wet spa area and a café bar.

David Lloyd Leisure says the new centre will create 70 full- and part-time jobs.

It will replace the current Greenacre Leisure Centre, Greenham Road, which is to close in July to make way for 40 homes on the site. The application for the complex has been anything but smooth running. Plans for the housing and a replacement leisure centre were first brought to the table in 2011.

What followed was strong opposition from existing Greenacre members, particularly those who used the centre for squash, badminton and swimming and claimed that the replacement facilities were inadequate, and a stream of revised applications.

Outline permission for the leisure scheme was finally granted in March 2014, with permission for the housing following in August.

David Lloyd Leisure’s regional manager, Andrew Davill, said: “We are very excited about this investment in Newbury, which will provide the town with a fantastic club offering unrivalled facilities, services, programmes and expertise for members to achieve their health and fitness goals.”

Mr Davill added that the company was proud to be supporting the town’s economy by providing new jobs.

Construction company Pellik-aan has started work on the new 3,300sq m complex.

What do you think of the look? Email your views to dan. cooper@newburynews.co.uk