Development of new leisure centre in East Cambridgeshire has received the go-ahead after Sport England awarded a £1.5m (US$2m, €1.7m) grant towards the £13.5m (US$17.7m, €15.7m) project.

Confirmation of the lottery award means the project in Ely is now fully funded and can go ahead. The money will come from Sport England’s strategic facilities fund, which offers investment to local authorities looking to make large-scale improvements to their sports facilities.

The Ely facility will include an eight-lane 25m swimming pool, a learner pool with moveable floor, a health and fitness suite with 120 stations, two activity studios, a four-court sports hall and a 3G artificial grass pitch.

The preferred contractor to build the centre is Pellikaan.

GLL will manage the East Cambridgeshire District Leisure Centre on the council's behalf when it has been built.

Charles Johnston, Sport England property director, said: “We are delighted to offer £1.5m of National Lottery funding to help people in East Cambridgeshire live more active lives. With plans for an impressive range of sporting facilities, this new centre will be huge asset for the region. I wish the council every success in delivering this first-class facility.”

Councillor Richard Hobbs, chairman of commercial services at the council, said: “We are thrilled to receive support from Sport England, which as a result, means that we can deliver a top class leisure facility for East Cambridgeshire. This funding is pivotal for the progression of the centre and I look forward to the work commencing in due course.”

Work is expected to start in September 2016, with the facility due to open in early 2018.

An indoor sports facilities needs assessment, strategy and action plan in 2015 found that the district’s facilities were not big enough for the community and would not cope with the demand from a growing population. The local population is expected to increase by 19,500 to 103,700 by 2026.