Plans for a £40 million investment to promote healthy and active communities across North Yorkshire, UK, will be considered by councillors tomorrow (4 November).

Following the launch of the Active North Yorkshire service last year, a proposal has been drawn up to improve the opportunities for people to become and stay active at every stage of their life by upgrading facilities.

The lion’s share of the investment – £36 million – will be focused on four sites. Firstly, Selby and Skipton, and later Pickering and Whitby which are currently operated by Everyone Active and will become part of Active North Yorkshire in 2027.

The investment would pay for improved health club and gym facilities, additional studio space and an overhaul of swimming pools to add accessible pool access. Improvements would also be made to public realm across the four sites.

A further £3 million would be invested in a phased programme to upgrade gym and fitness equipment across a further 12 Active Yorkshire sites.

Executive member for culture, arts and housing, Cllr Simon Myers, says: “There has been a great deal of work on these proposals to make sure that we can provide our leisure services as effectively as possible through the new Active North Yorkshire banner.

“The proposed investment is set to represent a real watershed moment for us. It shows the commitment we have to make sure everyone in North Yorkshire has the best opportunities possible to stay active or take up exercise to help promote both physical and mental health and wellbeing.”

SLC were commissioned to carry out the investment strategy, alongside DB3 Group and Press and Starky. Phase one involved a review of the 23 facilities and phase two focused on design options, costings and the business case for investment in each of the hubs.