By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Vacant parts of a former West Bridgford leisure centre will be knocked down under council plans to allow for the expansion of a nearby school.
Nottinghamshire County Council is due to approve the demolition of parts of Rushcliffe Leisure Centre next week, allowing the expansion plans of Rushcliffe Spencer Academy to move forward.
The site, on Boundary Road, has been part-vacant, part-used since its closure in 2017, with most of the facilities moving to the upgraded Rushcliffe Arena site.
The existing sports hall has continued to be used by the Nottingham Gymnastics Association (NGA) and will be retained under the plans and leased to the organisation.
But surplus parts of the former leisure centre, including the old swimming pool and sports facilities, have not been occupied for nearly five years and will be demolished under the plans.
Documents state the demolition, which is expected to cost £2.4 million, will open the door for the adjacent school to expand its site.
However, the council intends to demolish the leisure centre regardless of whether the school expansion scheme progresses, with the building “deteriorating” and representing a “security and health and safety risk”.
The authority has twice considered the need to expand the school, most recently in March last year when £480,000 was allocated for plans to be designed and for a planning application to be submitted.
This planning application is expected to be submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council in February.
The Spencer Academy Trust, which runs the school, has already entered an agreement with contractor Morgan Sindall, the company currently delivering the new Bingham school and due to deliver another school in East Leake.
And once demolition is complete and the site is cleared, the land will be transferred to the trust so the extension can begin. The existing sports hall will be retained by the council to be leased to the NGA.
Documents state the design fees for the school, to be spent by July 2022, are estimated at £373,825.
The proposed enabling and demolition works total £2,408,160, including £626,460 specifically for the leisure centre to be knocked down and £511,600 for access alterations.
About £2 million of this will come from the council’s site clearance programme, while £381,985 will come from the school places programme. Both of these funding amounts have already been approved.
An additional £400,000 will come from Section 106 developer contributions, while additional fees of £50,000 to Arc Partnership will be covered by the school places programme.
The council’s economic development and asset management committee is recommended to approve the funding when it meets on January 25.
The report published ahead of the meeting states: “Undertaking
demolition works will enable the completion of accommodation for the school expansion.
“All the works relate to the surplus parts of the old leisure centre, which is intended to be demolished whether the wider scheme progresses or not.
“Any delay to either the demolition and/or the design development will likely delay the opening date for the expanded school and would mean
children missing out on their first choice secondary school places.”
