Plans in for £17m sports village

A sports hall and sports science classroom are among plans

Plans for a £17m "sports village" have been submitted to a council.

The plans for Newcastle-under-Lyme include an eight-court sports hall, an all-weather pitch, nine other pitches and a 25m (82.02ft) swimming pool.

Newcastle council head Mark Barrow said: "This could be the biggest single sport development that the borough has seen in living memory."

The sports village would be on Newcastle College's new £52m campus and would be open to the public.

The sports village plans have been put forward by the borough council, Staffordshire County Council and Newcastle College.

'Whole community'

Work on the college's campus off Knutton Lane will begin next month and if the sports village gets the go-ahead in time, it will be incorporated into the building programme.

Mr Barrow, the borough council chief executive, said: "It's a very exciting time which could see us move away from outdated and undersized recreation facilities to state-of-the-art sports and leisure provision for the whole community."

The application will be considered at the borough's planning committee meeting on 15 April.

The plans will also be displayed during March at Jubilee Pool, Knutton Recreation Ground, Newcastle College and the Civic Offices.

Officers will be based at the venues at certain times to answer questions.