Sports centre demolished - and it will be a two year wait for a new one

The sports centre was closed in February last year after a report said that it, along with Castleford Swimming Pool, could not provide services to meet current demand.

It also stated that the centres were beyond the end of their useful life and were expensive to maintain.

Wakefield Council closed the building as part of its plans to build the new multi-purpose Five Towns Leisure and Wellbeing Centre in Pontefract Park.

But the earliest that work is likely to start on the new centre is the end of the year with a planning application for the work expected to be submitted this summer.

Wakefield Council said, if planning gets the green light, the centre could open by the summer 2020.

Coun Jacquie Speight, cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport at Wakefield Council, said: “We want to give people in our district the opportunity to enjoy great leisure facilities in modern buildings.

“I am pleased that we have already delivered the fantastic Minsthorpe Leisure this year which is already hugely popular.

“And we are now on track to deliver the new Five Towns facility in 2020.”

“We are working in a very tough financial climate, where £171m has been taken from our budget since 2011.

“Against this background, I am especially proud that we have already successfully delivered one centre, and the second centre is on schedule.”

The move to close the Knottingley facility was met with opposition from residents, who staged a protest outside last year.

The plans for the £14.8m complex in Pontefract Park include an eight or 10-lane swimming pool, studio pool with moveable floor and a splash pad water confidence area.