Cheshire West & Chester Council has approved £15m plans for a new sports and leisure village in Ellesmere Port.

To be built on the former Stanney High School site, the village would include: an eight-court badminton hall with seating capacity for 1,400; an eight-lane competition pool; and an 80-station gym.

The leisure offer would meet the town's predicted needs in growth and usage until at least 2030, however, the council is waiting to see if the planning application is called in before moving forward with the project.

Future expansion would also provide an indoor athletics straight and discussions are underway to upgrade all weather football pitches.

The finished build would have capacity to host regional and televised events and would be funded from the council's capital budget programme and Sport England.

Executive council member for culture and recreation Stuart Parker said: "As part of our far-reaching consultation we have listened to the local swimming club and recognise their aspirations for a 50m pool but our extensive research shows that a pool of that size in Ellesmere Port is simply not required."