Plymouth City Council has received a £2m grant from Sport England towards the construction costs of the city's new regional sports and leisure centre.

The funding will eat up a fifth of Sport England's Sustainable Facilities Fund (SSF) - a £10m pot of gold for which Sport England received a total of 69 applications.

Six other projects across the UK qualified for funding from the SSF, with a further four asked to develop their bids with the view of possibly receiving funding.

Manchester City Council and British Cycling were given £3m towards plans to create a National Indoor BMX Centre in Sportcity, while Nottingham Trent University will receive £700,000 towards the redevelopment of the university's sports facilities.

Durham University (£500,000), Paignton Community and Sports College (£300,000), Northrowram Community Sports & Activity Club (£175,000) and Burnage Rugby Club (£120,000) completed the line up for this year's funding.

Richard Lewis, chair of Sport England, said: ""These investments will deliver sustainable sporting opportunities for thousands of people across the country.

"The high-quality facilities supported through this fund will help us deliver a lasting Olympic and Paralympic legacy of increased participation in sport."

Adding to the Sport England funding, the £46.5m cost of the Life Centre will be provided by a £2.5m from the University of Plymouth, while Plymouth City Council will finance the majority of the cost through capital receipts gained from the sale of the council's assets.

Facilities at the centre will include a family leisure pool with flumes, beach entry and a bubble pool, a climbing zone with a 15m (49.2ft) wall and aerial assault course, an eight-lane bowls centre and a 12-court multi-use sports hall.