New £30m leisure centre plan is approved

The designs for a new £30m leisure centre in Nottinghamshire have been given the go-ahead.

Gedling Borough Council's planning committee voted through plans for the Carlton Active facility to be built on the site of the Richard Herrod Centre off Foxhill Road.

The old building closed in April 2026 and is currently being demolished as part of a wider revamp project that also seeks to tear down the Carlton Forum site.

Carlton Active, which will have a smaller footprint than the current centre, will include an eight-lane swimming pool, a teaching pool, cafe, soft play area, community room, and a studio with power-assisted equipment.

The council previously said more than £2m in backlog works were required for the two existing leisure centres, which, along with a £545,000 yearly subsidy, made them "unsustainable in their current form".

It had also faced criticism for not replacing the indoor bowls facility at the Richard Herrod Centre but officers estimated this would have added £5.6m and £7.7m to capital costs.

Despite plans being voted through, a number of councillors expressed concern the planned 154 spaces would not be sufficient, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

This focused on potential congestion on weekends when football spectators for matches on the nearby playing fields, who have traditionally used the car park, combine with potentially increased demand for the new centre.

Officers said they believed the planned spaces would cope with future demand.

The demolition of the Richard Herrod Centre is expected to be completed by late November or early December.

The council said that as the project still had several important stages to complete, including planning, detailed design, funding arrangements and subsequent council approvals, dates for the start of construction and the opening of the new centre cannot yet be confirmed.

Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.