Initial plans for a £35m redevelopment of the leisure centre and library in West Wickham have taken a step forward.

Proposals to move West Wickham Library to a new leisure centre and build flats at both sites were welcomed by Bromley Council’s executive.

The council has said current facilities are “outdated” and not to a good enough standard, which would cost more than £1m to rectify.

Speaking about the early plans, council leader Colin Smith said it was “very good news” that the development was taking shape.

Portfolio holder for renewal and recreation, councillor Peter Morgan, went on to say: “This is all in principle.

“Everybody knows we have been trying for some time to improve the facilities at West Wickham, we have a fairly old leisure centre there which, at the very least, is in need of substantial repairs.

“We’ve been looking for a way to rebuild the leisure centre without draining the public purse.

“This is a proposed leisure centre, and we plan to relocate the library. If we do that we have two sites to develop on, the library site and the leisure centre where we can provide a large number of flats.”

Councillors agreed to spend money on hiring architects to further the plans before the council look for a developer.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett said at the meeting that ward councillors are delighted at the proposals.

He previously told News Shopper: “The current centre is 50 years old and it is not able to be made into a modern standard.

“It is really exciting for West Wickham, it is a major development. It is in the indicative stage at the moment, and it all has to go through planning and consultations, but it is really exciting.”

The development would cost somewhere in the region of £35m, but it is hoped that developers will pay most of that, leaving the council’s bill at little over £1m.

The council said it will look at the potential of building a temporary swimming pool once the development starts as the existing leisure centre could be closed for “a couple of years”, according to councillor Bennett.

What the development would be:

  • A new leisure centre, split over two levels including a gym, two pools, one of which is 25 metres, a café and a fitness studio
  • Underground car park
  • A new library, relocated at the leisure centre, the same size as the existing one
  • A four storey block of 73 new flats developed at the leisure centre site
  • 18 one, two and three flats in a four storey block at the site of the current library, with balconies overlooking Glebe Way.