Plans for new gym and football pitches approved

The development will replace the former Chris Jewkes Leisure Centre in Tettenhall

A fitness centre which closed 18 months ago will re-open with a new gym and artificial football pitch after £6m of improvements.

City of Wolverhampton Council has given permission to Hamilton Leisure to carry out the work at the former Chris Jewkes Fitness Centre in Tettenhall.

The venue will also get new changing rooms, a cafe, physiotherapy rooms and a larger car park.

The work has been backed by Old Wulfrunians FC, which plans to use the artificial pitches for its junior clubs.

The provision, set to replace two existing pitches, was at one time the focus of objection from Sport England, the government body responsible for protecting playing fields.

But Old Wulfrunians said the old pitches were regularly waterlogged and were in such bad condition they gave the site a "poor reputation".

The club said it regularly had to call off games from October onwards because of concerns about the state of the pitches.

The site is in protected Green Belt land, but councillors agreed that an exception could be made for the development, because the benefit to the community created "very special circumstances".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.