HINCKLEY Leisure Centre will be relocated to a site off the A47 Leicester Road to form an integral part of a new ‘sporting hub’ for the Borough.

The proposed site is alongside Hinckley United FC’s Marstons Stadium and, following the full council's approval of the concept at its meeting on Wednesday (7th), negotiations will take place with the landowner with a view to purchasing it.

As well as the leisure centre and the football club, the ‘sporting hub’ will include the adjacent rugby, tennis, squash and cricket clubs. In addition, the council will include the former ‘crematorium site’, which it owns nearby, so that more sporting facilities could be added to the hub in the future.

It is also hoped that the creation of a high quality hub will make it easier for the individual sports clubs to gain funding in the future to improve their facilities.

The council had already allocated a budget of £10 million to refurbish the existing leisure centre on Coventry Road, Hinckley or to build a new centre elsewhere.

A Working Party was appointed in September 2007 to examine the options and recommended that re-locating to the A47 would better serve residents in the rest of the Borough as access is easier for those living in the rural area.

In addition, the Working Party agreed that refurbishing the existing centre would not offer value for money. It would also result in its closure for at least a year while the work was carried out, and this was felt to be unrealistic as the council has a duty of care to those who use these facilities