Aspire@ThePark: New £21m Pontefract leisure centre could still open before summer, Wakefield Council hopes

An artist's impression of how the completed facility will look.

Aspire@ThePark, as the new centre in Pontefract Park will be known, will be the largest facility of its kind in the Wakefield district.

Its development was hit by a serious flooding incident in late 2019, which forced its opening to be delayed from the original target date of autumn 2020.

Despite the current lockdown, the council says Aspire@ThePark may still be open within the next couple of months, depending on how and when the government lifts the current restrictions on public life.

The complex will feature a 12-lane swimming pool

The Prime Minister is expected to provide details on the so-called "roadmap" out of lockdown next week.

The new complex will feature a 10-lane swimming pool, a gym, exercise studios, a climbing wall and a soft play area.

Other features will include four outdoor tennis courts, a garden, a cafe and meeting rooms.

Papers released ahead of the council's budget debate next week said that the council had overspent by around £450,000 on Aspire@ThePark because of Covid.

The facility was first given planning permission in early 2019.

A successful insurance claim covered the cost of the flooding incident however.

The structure was swamped by around 1.5m litres of drain water in October 2019 after an accident while Yorkshire Water was working on underground pipes at the site.

Meanwhile financial papers also revealed that the council has lost more than £4m in income from its other leisure centres across the district because of closures over the last year.

Local Democracy Reporting Service