Detailed designs for a new, multi-million pound leisure centre in Plymouth's Central Park are due to be unveiled next week when the full planning application is submitted.

The £46.5 million Life Centre scheme will see the city's biggest ever investment in leisure facilities and underline Plymouth’s credentials as a premier venue for local, national and even international events.

The Life Centre will be the best leisure centre of its kind in the region and one of the country's leading centres of aquatic excellence, attracting some of the South West's top sportsmen and women.

It also aims to be a hub of community activity that will excite and inspire people of all ages and abilities, with a varied and affordable programme of sessions that will help increase levels of sport and physical activity in the city and improve the overall health and fitness of local residents.

The Council is also working on plans for a new, full-size ice rink and spectator area. This is not included within the main Life Centre building due to size constraints but the Council is still fully committed to providing a new ice facility as part of the scheme and is exploring its options, with a view to getting expressions of interest later in the year. It aims to provide a new ice rink at around the same time as the Life Centre opens.

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Plans also include a transport hub serving the park and ride service, Life Centre and Central Park, with a waiting area, toilets and showers, as well as around 300 new parking spaces, a coach lay-by and improved road junctions and access on Outland Road. This will mean relocating the skate park and a detailed options appraisal will be carried out with skateboarders and Sport England, which will explore the possibility of making improvements to the scheme as part of the move.

The Life Centre is crucial to wider plans for improving Central Park, acting as a key focal point which will attract more visitors to the park and will ensure the city remains competitive and well-placed to attract further investment in the future. The scheme will be funded mainly through capital receipts (money raised through the sale of Council assets) and Council borrowing, plus a £2.5 million contribution from the University of Plymouth.

Lead designers Archial (formerly SMC Charter Architects) have been developing the scheme with engineering consultants ARUP, in consultation with Council officers and more than 50 different stakeholder groups, including professional sports associations, Sport England, the University of Plymouth, UCP Marjon, local clubs, schools, local user groups, the Disabled Access Network and the Plymouth Sports Forum, as well as local public transport companies.

Paul Weston, Director of Archial said: "This building is a major architectural statement in Central Park and will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the area. It will 'lift the spirits'. The exciting form of the building comes from the activities inside, which we have used for maximum dramatic effect. The centre brings together under one roof a wide range of leisure and sporting facilities for all members of the community and we have created a design where all the users can interact in a stimulating environment."

If the plans are approved, a contractor should be appointed in September and work is expected to start on site in late autumn. The Life Centre is scheduled to open in September 2011.

(CD/JM)