New plans for Kirkby leisure centre, with swimming pool, revealed by new leader

Councillor Jason Zadrozny, leader of the Ashfield Independents, became the leader of the council after the previous leader was outed with a vote of no confidence last night, Thursday, April 26.

This morning, Friday, April 27, he cancelled a deal with the NHS to buy the former Ashfield Health and Wellbeing Centre on Portland Street, Kirkby. The previous Labour leadership had wanted to demolish it and turn into the new leisure centre - replacing Festival Hall on Hodgkinson Road.

Coun Zadrozny has now said the council is looking into two new options for the leisure centre - which would include a swimming pool. He said the changes will save £2m.

He said: "The previous administration were going to demolish the Festival Hall and build a new leisure centre on the NHS land - I have stopped that this morning.

"We will have a new leisure centre and it will now have a swimming pool.

"We are looking at two options - one is to redevelop the Festival Hall site.

"The council owns a huge amount of land behind it - which they wanted for housing - but we could put the swimming pool on it."

He has said pulling out the deal has not cost any money and that any new proposal will be cheaper than the original plan.

He also said the problem with redeveloping Festival Hall is that "it would have to close" while it was redeveloped.

He said: "If we built a new centre on a new spot we could close one and open the other at the same time."

Another option the new leader has said he is thinking about is buying land off Pond Street, Kirkby which use to be used as a fairground and an old factory next to the site.

He said: "The other option is the land off Pond Street, it is right in the town centre which will help drive footfall into town."