New civic centre to be called Bolton One

Bolton's forthcoming £30m sports and health centre will be called Bolton One 'to sum up its uniqueness', the public partners behind the project revealed today.

Bolton Council, NHS Bolton and the University of Bolton, the three organisations involved in the project, recently agreed the financial contract to build the new centre.

The facility will house, leisure and academic facilities under one roof. The complex will be built at the University of Bolton's Deane Road campus and is due for completion in early 2012.

Cllr Cliff Morris, leader of Bolton Council, said: "Bolton One represents three partners coming together and our aspiration to provide the best facilities for the town. The name has been chosen to represent the breadth of services that will be contained, in one centre, under one roof, for one community.

"We want the community to know that they will be at the heart of all the services delivered from this building and have a real sense of ownership with the centre. This is a vital project which will bring a swimming pool to the town centre and the building will be a significant landmark within the Bolton Innovation Zone."

Preparatory highway works will now start on Moor Lane on Monday 12 October to enable the state of the art facilities to be built.

The complex will house a swimming pool and leisure services, a four-storey urgent care centre, and sports science laboratories and teaching facilities.

The scheme has been developed by the BRAHM LIFT company to meet the highest environmental standards and the Eric Wright Group, the private sector partner in BRAHM LIFT, will construct the complex.

Bolton One will house an eight-lane, 25-metre competition swimming pool with seating for 250 spectators; a therapeutic hydrotherapy pool for people with disabilities; a fitness suite; aerobics studio and community gym. Serco, which manages the council's leisure centres, will run the swimming pool and leisure facilities of the complex. An urgent care, diagnostic and treatment centre, managed by the NHS within the complex, will provide a 'walk-in' service for patients. The university will be providing a Centre of Excellence for Health and Wellbeing, which will include clinical skills laboratory facilities.

Bolton One will meet the BREEAM 'Excellent' rating for sustainability measures.