New swimming pool plans for Morley?

Morley Leisure Centre is one of the best performing centre across the Leeds area with more than 350,000 visits between April 2016 and January of this year.

But councillors fear the centre could become a victim of its own success and are exploring the possibility of having a second pool opened.

Councillor Bob Getting, a member of the Morley Borough Independent Councillors, said: “We had an excellent visit to the fabulous facilities at the sports centre.

“The staff are brilliant and the number of visits by residents is fantastic.

“We were especially impressed with the fitness suite and the new equipment recently placed there.

“However staff told us that because the centre is so popular there is a significant pressure for more swimming time.

“This cannot be done with the present pools which are being used full time but an additional pool would provide increased capacity for the centre to deal with this unmet demand.”

Although costly, the independent councillors say community payments triggered by the additional 2,000-plus homes proposed for Morley in the coming years could generate a significant capital receipt to support such an ambitious project.

Councillor Judith Elliott admitted that the idea was at a very early stage and admitted it may not be possible to even extend the current facility.

She said “We have asked to meet with senior officers to explore if there is a realistic option for an additional pool.

“This may be an ambitious project and the lack of space or finance may prevent the delivery of such a new facility but we think it is important to explore all such possibilities.”

The leisure centre on Queensway currently has a 25-metre pool with a small learner pool.

However, the timetable is divided into several sessions, including general swimming, lessons, family times, water polo, disabled swimming, and private hire.