ALTRINCHAM could be getting a £10 million leisure centre if plans to pump £24million into improving Trafford’s leisure facilities get the go-ahead – but an Urmston centre faces closure.

Last week, Trafford Council announced plans to invest £24.4million into the borough’s leisure facilities as part of its 2017/18 budget proposals.

Trafford’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), produced earlier this year, identified increasing physical activity levels in Trafford as its top priority, with the health cost of inactivity estimated at £4.8m.

The JSNA suggested that 46 per cent of adults in Trafford who are inactive want to take part in sport; 34 per cent of year 6 children and 61 per cent of adults are overweight or obese; 21 per cent of adults have a high anxiety score; and that 114 deaths could be prevented per year if 75 per cent of people aged between 40-79 years engaged in recommended levels of physical activity.

Independent leisure industry experts were called in in February this year to evaluate the potential for investment in council-owned leisure centres and analyse commercial viability.

A report identified a level of investment would be required to modernise centres and need for a new facility in Altrincham.

Proposals were drawn up and if they go ahead, Urmston, which would benefit from £2,113,000 boost, and Sale, which would receive £4,431,000, would be done first.

This would be followed by a new £10m centre in Altrincham and then a £6,479,000 investment in Stretford.

Partington would only get the £1,365,000 set aside for its improvements when new housing comes to the area, as increased uptake and income growth would be needed to repay the investment.

There are also intentions to close George H Carnall Leisure Centre, when Urmston Leisure Centre improvements are complete.

An oversupply of golf facilities have also been identified as independent Flixton Golf Club sits adjacent to William Wroe Golf Course. A consolidation is therefore recommended.  

These sites would be subject to a consultation. The multi-million pound scheme would be financed from a combination of capital receipts, external grants and borrowing.

An alternative option would be to invest £10,363,000 in rectifying an urgent backlog of maintenance at current centres over the next eight years.

A recommendation in the report reads: “By investing £24.39m in the modernisation and new build of leisure centres, it will increase the usage and generate significant additional income to meet the investment requirements.

“It will also offset the need to spend £10.363m on the backlog of routine maintenance, which would have no perceivable impact on improving the customer facing aspects of each centre and would therefore not generate additional revenue.

"There is also a risk of falling customer numbers without visible improvements, which would severely jeopardise the Council’s ability to sustain a leisure centre offer in each of its key localities.

“Also, of prime importance, this proposal aims to secure a significant improvement in health and wellbeing outcomes by improving the opportunities for residents to improve their physical activity levels with a result.”

Proposals will go before executive members on Tuesday November 15.