Proposals for £50m sports village

A multi-million pound sports village has been floated as the solution to ageing leisure facilities in Suffolk.

Ipswich Borough Council is to begin a study which will investigate the town's future sporting needs.

Among the options to be considered is grouping sporting facilities in one area, at a possible cost of £50m.

The survey has been prompted by the need to rebuild or repair the town's ageing swimming complex, Crown Pools, which could cost £27m to replace.

Judy Terry, the councillor with responsibility for culture and leisure at Ipswich Borough Council, said its executive would consider a report on the options for Crown Pools at a meeting on 18 December.

Becoming outdated

She said among the options was refurbishing the building in Crown Street, at a possible cost of between £4m and £7m.

However she added the report into the options was still being finalised.

She said: "There are a number of options we are looking at.

Thirty years ago what we had was OK, nowadays people are looking for much more Judy Terry, Ipswich borough councillor

"We've already been doing a lot of work this year to upgrade the building."

Mrs Terry said the idea of a sports village had arisen out of the town's need to modernise its sporting facilities.

She said: "We've been looking at it for a while because our sports centres are all becoming a bit outdated.

"People demand more of sports facilities and other leisure activities these days.

"Thirty years ago what we had was OK, nowadays people are looking for much more.

"Thirty years from now people are going to want a completely different experience."

But she added: "Obviously we've got to look for the best value for the taxpayers in the current economic climate."