Leisure centre and council HQ plan for former mine

A Derbyshire council is set to build a new leisure centre and headquarters on a former mining site.

South Derbyshire District Council wants to demolish its 1970s-built Green Bank Leisure Centre and Civic Offices in Swadlincote.

The authority said the buildings in Civic Way were "becoming unfit" for purpose.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said land at the former Cadley Hill Colliery, on the edge of the town, had been chosen for replacement buildings.

The council said it intended to submit a planning application for a new office and leisure facility, which it hoped would be built by early 2028.

It said the current buildings would remain open until the replacement building was operational.

The cost of the new building has yet to be revealed, but the LDRS said councillors were due to approve the budget for the project in the next month.

Funding for the scheme is expected to come from council reserves and from grant applications.

The new building would be constructed on land off William Nadin Way and would be accompanied by "significant" car parking facilities, the council said.

Dr Justin Ives, the council's chief executive, said the authority acquired the site by swapping it for land in Newhall on which it has approved plans for 150 homes.

Dr Ives said the existing council office was built in 1977.

"It has not had a lot of money spent on it and it doesn't fit with the council's programme anymore," he said

"The building is made up of lots of little offices and that doesn't lend itself to modern ways of working."

He said the offices and the leisure centre were both "past their best".

The council has said the new leisure centre would be "bigger and better" than the Green Bank complex and include an eight-lane 25-metre swimming pool, a cafe and gym.

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