UCLAN plans £11m sports centre

THE University of Central Lancashire is looking for construction firms to build a new £11m leisure centre in Preston.

The university said it will invite up to six contractors to bid for the work which involves building a sports facility and pre-school nursery covering 6,000 sq m.

A contract notice inviting tenders said the scheme will include a main hall, changing rooms, a fitness centre, a squash court and a cafe. The nursery will cater for 90 children.

The university said the development will, “incorporate robust sustainability measures”, in line with its wider objectives.

A spokesman admitted the development was at an “embryonic stage” and had not yet gained board approval or planning consent.

The new buildings, to be constructed on the site of the campus’s Marsh building at the junction of Marsh Lane and Leighton Street in Preston, should be finished by December 2010.

The Marsh building, which houses student support services, will be demolished. The deadline for expressions of interest is April 3.