Flagship sports centre plan wins Government approval

From the The Northern Echo, first published Wednesday 14th Jun 2006.

A FLAGSHIP sports and leisure centre planned for the heart of Consett has moved a step closer after receiving Government approval.

The £25m development passed a significant hurdle when it was granted approved by Government Office for the North East - and developers from Project Genesis say the project is now on course for building work to begin next spring.

Planning permission for the sports centre - which is to be built on part of the former Consett steelworks site near Derwentside College - was granted earlier this year but, due to the scale of the 40-acre development, Government permission was required before it could progress.

The centre, which has yet to be named, is expected to be completed within three years.

It will include a sports hall, 25-metre swimming pool, four badminton courts, four outdoor tennis courts, 15 outdoor football pitches and a gym. It is also anticipated that it will provide a new home for Consett AFC.

Morris Muter, managing director of Project Genesis, said: "This project is now very much a reality, with funding in place, and all we have to do is consult with the public and confirm a few final details with the council.

"It's a very exciting development that fits perfectly with the mixed leisure, business and residential usage planned for the Project Genesis site."

Project Genesis, the body charged with redeveloping the former steelworks site, which is part funding the stadium development along with Derwentside College, has now released artists' impressions of the proposals.

Full plans will be on show at an hour-long public meeting starting at 6.30pm next Wednesday, in Consett Civic Hall, in Medomsley Road, at which residents will be able to give their views on the detail of the development.

Derwentside District Council leader Councillor Alex Watson, who sits on the board of Project Genesis, said: "This is great news for the people of Consett and the surrounding area, providing a top-class public facility and demonstrating that Project Genesis is really delivering with new jobs, homes and leisure facilities.

"It also goes a long way towards completing the regeneration of the central plateau, which dominates the western approach to the town.

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