Nottingham City Council has been given the green light to build a new £6m leisure centre as part of its £18.5m investment scheme aimed at improving sports provisions in the area.

The Leisure Centre Transformation Programme, led by the council, will fund the development alongside a £2m grant from the Neighbourhood Development Company. The new facility will replace the aging Noel Street Leisure Centre – one of 11 centres earmarked to be upgraded as part of the programme.

The new facility, to be managed by the council, will feature a 25m swimming pool, a 50-station gym and multi-use fitness studio, as well as a sauna and steamroom. The centre will be built on the site of the existing Djanogly City Academy, which will share its sports hall with the public outside of teaching hours.

Proposals for the facility will be submitted to the council's executive committee on 16 December and, if approved, construction work is expected to begin in January 2009 with the view of opening in March 2010. The Noel Street Leisure Centre will close when the new facility opens.

Councillor Dave Trimble, portfolio holder for communities, leisure and culture, said: "A better standard of service should be provided for both our existing and new leisure centre users to encourage more people to take part in leisure activities. This proposal will provide a modern facility for residents of Forest Fields and the surrounding areas to enjoy for years to come, as well as opening up quality school sports facilities to the public."

The programme, aimed at providing fewer but better leisure facilities across the city, is being complemented by an improved membership scheme called Flexible Fitness. In an aim to appeal to a wider audience and increase the number of children taking part in regular exercise, the council is offering an affordable, contract-free, fixed-price, monthly membership.

It is also offering a wider range of membership packages and discounts for students and the 60-plus, and groups of two people or more can receive added benefits.

Trimble said: "Flexible Fitness offers a really affordable way of people to improve their health and fitness, and we are pleased to be able to offer a more comprehensive and flexible selection of membership packages which cater for the differing needs of our customers and offer savings to those who really need them."

Facilities which have already been targeted as part of the transformation initiative include £430,000 worth of improvements at Portland Leisure Centre, £1.4m at John Carroll Leisure Centre and an investment of £2.2m into Ken Martin Leisure Centre, which reopened at the beginning of 2008.

Work is currently underway at the Nottingham Tennis Centre to install a new 60-station fitness suite and spinning, sauna and steamrooms – due to be completed at the end of Autumn 2008.