Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council are today launching a scheme to develop a Healthy Living Centre at the Bedworth Leisure Centre in Warwickshire.

The project has received a grant of £268,000 from the Active England Programme, which the council is to match, investing a further £260,000.

The scheme has been designed to provide a Healthy Living Centre and leisure facilities all under one roof and includes converting two of four former squash courts to house a dance studio and a cardiovascular fitness suite for people prescribed fitness training by local doctors. It will also have specialised equipment for use by people with disabilities.

The existing gym, situated in a disused locker room, will be revamped and turned into a crèche.

The centre will also include a meeting and training facility for people in the community, offering diabetes testing, blood pressure testing and other health- and job-related advice and activity classes for socially excluded or isolated people.

It will also serve as a base for the Healthy Living Network to hold classes and activities to improve the health and well-being of the community.

The scheme is the result of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Sport and Recreation Plan (2003-2007), which identified the need to upgrade existing facilities and to create a specialist disability-friendly centre.

The project is supported by 17 partner organisations, including Alderman Smith Sports College, Greater Warwickshire Sports Partnership, Nuneaton and Bedworth Swimming Club and disabilities agency, DIAL, which is to help with the design of the centre.

In the first 12 months of operation, the council aims to encourage 500 new gym users from a variety of backgrounds – with 25 per cent from socially disadvantaged areas and 8 per cent from the minority ethnic community – and including 60 people with a disability and 150 people aged over 50.

Councillor Tony Lloyd said: “I’m very pleased that we have been successful in our bid to Active England. It proves that by working in partnership we can achieve positive results.

“We believe this is the first genuine partnership between a Healthy Living Network and a leisure trust to provide a series of physical activity opportunities, under one roof, aimed at targeted participants in the West Midlands.”

The development is expected to be complete by autumn 2005, while a steering group will be established this summer to consult with existing gym users and the partner agencies.