By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
New planning documents reveal the scale of the new £8m ‘health hub’ planned for Warsop.
Mansfield District Council has submitted an application to its own planning department for the new leisure centre, which is being brought forward as part of its £12.3m Towns Fund package.
The authority is allocating £3m from the Government pot to create the new facility, and between £1m and £1.5m is being requested from Sport England.
Last week, it was confirmed the authority is still awaiting confirmation from the Government-supported sports body to find out exactly how much money it will receive.
The amount provided by Sport England will determine how the council’s own budgets will be affected, as up to £3.5m will need to be approved in borrowing depending on the grant support.
Reserves could also be used to bring forward the £8m centre.
Now documents submitted by the authority have confirmed the building will be a single-storey facility based at the southeast corner of Carr Lane Park, off Carr Lane.
It will accompany an extended car park on land currently used as parking for the nearby playing fields.
Documents show the hub would include 44 regular car parking spaces, four disabled spaces and three electric charging spaces – taking the total to 51.
The Labour-run authority has long said the new development is “not a replacement” for the former Meden Sports Centre, which shut in 2018 over funding issues and concerns over the condition of the building.
But the documents, submitted by developer Roberts Limbrick on behalf of the council, say the facility would act as a replacement for the now-closed hub.
The authority’s documents said: “The proposals are for a replacement community leisure facility in Warsop following the closure of Meden Sports Centre.
“It will provide a high-quality leisure provision for the local community to encourage active participation.
“The internal and external spaces are designed to be flexible, simple
and low-maintenance but also robust and attractive.”
The documents add that the new hub would be a single-storey building featuring “flexible, multi-purpose spaces that can be intensively used for a variety of activity and fitness uses”.
It will include an 8m x 15m swimming pool with water play facilities, a gym suite and a multi-purpose hall that can be used for badminton and basketball.
The hall will have a dividing curtain so two separate sports can be played at one time.
And it will feature a reception area, a cafe, a meeting and community room and a viewing area.
The report adds the new facility will be “supported by the generous gender-neutral changing village”.
Councillor Craig Whitby (Lab), the council’s portfolio holder for corporate and finance, previously said: “We are very committed to the idea of building these new leisure facilities in Warsop.
“They would bring an undoubted improvement in the quality of life for the people there and help to address some of the health inequalities that exist in this district.
“This will transform a huge part of our community. The people are on our side, the experts are on our side, and we are one step away from getting this over the line.”
The council’s planning committee will review the application on future date not yet decided.
