North Down Borough Council has submitted a planning application for a new £35m leisure centre in Bangor, County Down.

The new facility will replace the existing Bangor Castle Leisure Centre – which was built in 1973 – and will boast a swimming pool, a fun pool, a 120-station fitness suite, an eight-court sports hall, a climbing wall, squash courts, floodlit synthetic grass courts and seven five-a-side football pitches.

The council is also bidding for a £10m grant from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to build Northern Ireland’s first Olympic-sized swimming pool. North Down is bidding against neighbouring Castlereagh Borough Council for the award, but if it is successful, the pool would be included in the new centre.

The planning process is expected to take around nine months and, if permission is granted, work will begin next year.

The old leisure centre will remain open until the new site opens in 2010 and then be sold, with proceeds from the sale helping to offset the cost of the new complex.