The new £10.4m Heywood Sports Village is on schedule to open its doors to the public later this month.

Funded jointly by Rochdale Borough Council, Heywood NDC and leisure trust Link4Life, the Heywood Sports Village will include two swimming pools, a multi-use sports hall, a large gym, exercise and fitness studios and a range of youth and community rooms dedicated to arts and leisure activities.

The centre will replace existing facilities on the West Starkey Street site including the thirty-five year old Gaskell Pool which closed at the end of July so final building work could be completed.

Fitting out of the new facilities is led by Link4Life who will continue to manage the centre on behalf of the borough council.

Some of the new activities earmarked for the new centre include weekly creative arts sessions, a wide range of dance and exercise classes, improved family activities and a dedicated facility for young people that includes a youth gym.

The project is part of the council’s larger, £34m funding commitment to improve the region’s leisure facilities over the next three years.

John Percival, acting head of partnerships & regeneration at Rochdale Council, said: “The benefits from this investment touch so many lives through improvements in health and well-being and in areas such as economic growth and community safety.

“Coming on top of the success of Heywood's Phoenix Centre, the Sports Village will continue to transform the quality of public services provided for residents."