Up to 85 jobs would be created by new £25m Leighton Buzzard leisure centre, says resubmitted plan

Up to 40 full-time and 45 part-time jobs are expected to be created by a new £25m leisure centre in Leighton Buzzard.

Plans for the new facility, off Briggington Way, at Clipstone Park have been drawn up and resubmitted by Central Bedfordshire Council.

The local authority’s application includes an eight-lane 25m community swimming pool, separate dedicated learner and shallow water (confidence) pools and a fitness suite.

It would also contain exercise studios, a spin studio, two squash courts, a cafe, a community space, a creche and both indoor and outdoor changing rooms.

The leisure centre would be built next to a range of sports pitches provided by The Stearn Land and Clipstone Park developments to create an indoor and outdoor sporting hub for the community.

This was designed originally to replace Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre in Linslade. But Leighton-Linslade town councillors and other interested groups want to keep that facility open to serve residents in the west side of the town.

CBC’s proposals include 58-full-time equivalent posts made up of 40 full-time and 45 part-time roles, as well as construction work.

There would be 188 parking spaces with storage space for 40 bicycles, along with provision for motorcycles, disabled bays and electric vehicles, according to CBC’s website planning portal.

Developer Willmott Dixon’s construction, environmental and traffic management plan said: “Central Bedfordshire Council (initially) submitted planning permission for a new leisure centre in November 2022 to meet the demands of a growing community in the local area.

“There will be access to walking and cycling routes, linking to the new and current communities. The site is bounded on all sides by agricultural fields and a new access road has been created from Briggington Way.

“The project is surrounded by a good road network, so vehicles won’t need to enter Leighton Buzzard town centre or Health and Reach. Instead traffic will use the A5 and A505, which have good connections to all surrounding areas.

This is part of wider proposals to include football pitches and a new school, added the plan.

Leighton-Linslade Town Council has referred previously to “majority agreement for the facilities which are part of the planned new centre”.

Its concerns centred on a CBC leisure facilities strategy suggesting there was “insufficient demand” for two such buildings to serve the area.

CBC under its previous administration considered Tiddenfoot “no longer fit for purpose or cost-effective to run”. But town councillors urged it should remain open and transferred to third parties or Cedars Upper School, if necessary.

A ten-year contract was awarded to Everyone Active to take over the running of CBC’s six leisure centres, including Tiddenfoot, from April 1 this year.

A CBC spokesman said in February: “The council continues to invest significantly in new leisure provision, currently working on the delivery of exciting new sport centres in Leighton-Linslade and Houghton Regis.

“Having a single experienced provider managing the leisure centres offers a consistent customer-focused service engaging with the community’s needs.”

The application is due to be considered by CBC’s development management committee before the end of next month, with building work expected to last just over 18 months if approved.