Plans approved to replace ageing Leeds leisure centre

Plans to transform an ageing leisure centre into a sports and wellbeing hub have been approved by members of Leeds City Council’s north and east plans panel. Fearnville Leisure Centre in Gipton – which dates back to the 1980s – will now be replaced with a new facility built on part of King George V Playing Fields, the 28-acre green space where the current leisure centre is housed.

Facilities in the new hub will include a 25-metre main pool, learner pool and water splash pads, a 120-station gym, indoor cycling studio, family changing village, soft play area, party rooms and a café.

Outdoor facilities will include a full-size synthetic grass pitch and the plans also include tree-planting and soft landscaping to increase the site’s biodiversity, with insects, birds and other wildlife giving people fresh opportunities to get in touch with nature. Work is expected to start on site early in the new year and take around 18 months to complete.

The existing centre will remain open while the new one is built, before being demolished once construction is complete. It is hoped the new site will encourage more take-up among residents in Gipton and Harehills and Killingbeck and Seacroft – wards which suffer from low life expectancy.