West Dunbartonshire Council has earmarked £18m of funding to build a new leisure centre in Clydebank by 2016.

The new facility is expected to replace the current Play Drome, which is in the process of being sold to Tesco.

Initially, the Council had planned to use funds from the Play Drome site to pay for the new centre, but with negotiations still continuing, Councillors agreed to use the recently approved 10-year capital plan to fund the development.

With funding agreed, construction work on the new leisure centre, located at Queen's Quay, could begin as early as April 2014. The building work is expected to take around 17 months, meaning it could open in time for Christmas 2015, but a contingency plan could delay this to March 2016 at the latest.

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Plans for the new leisure centre have already been drawn up and include a pool hall with teaching pool, competition pool and leisure facilities, a 100-station fitness suite, an eight-court sports hall, combat room, dance studio, multi-purpose rooms and a coffee shop.

The Council said the centre has been designed to maximize the features of the waterfront site including spectacular views across the river Clyde from full height windows of the second floor fitness suite.

Councillor David McBride, Convener of Economic Development, said: "I am delighted that the Council has taken the decision to release the funding, allowing us to deliver on our ambition to build a new leisure centre and contribute to the regeneration of the Queens Quay site.

"This is great news for the future of Clydebank and the people of West Dunbartonshire, and another example of how this Council is getting on with business despite the tough economic times."

(JP/CD)