A £50m ‘Life Centre’ is being planned for Plymouth’s Central Park which will provide sport, music, health, art and drama facilities for the city, featuring amenities ranging from an Olympic-size swimming pool to a cinema.

Plymouth City Council presented its plans for the 220-acre site to Big Lottery Fund inspectors in May – backed by 10,000 signatures as a result of a local newspaper’s ‘Let’s Build It’ campaign – in a bid for £25m towards the development of the project.

The remainder of the funding would come from partners and key stakeholders in the project, such as Plymouth Primary Care Trust and Plymouth University.

Cllr Peter Smith, cabinet member for leisure at Plymouth City Council, said: “Plymouth citizens had the foresight to acquire Central Park 75 years ago to create the park so that local people could benefit from healthy pursuits.

“The plan was never fully realised and we hope that the proposed Life Centre scheme will unlock the potential of the site, so people can have more fun and be healthier.”

Sports such as ice skating, badminton, netball, basketball, hockey and football are all catered for in the plans and the scheme includes fitness suites with saunas and steamrooms. Also included are recording studios, rehearsal and performance spaces for musicians, a library, youth centre and an outdoor performance area.

The Big Lottery funding process consists of three stages. It is understood that over 500 expressions of interest were made at stage one, and then whittled down to 70. The council should know by September 2006 whether it has made it through to the final round with a May 2007 deadline to make a detailed submission. A final decision would be due by December 2007 and if it goes in Plymouth's favour, the Life Centre could be ready for 2010. Details: www.plymouth.gov.uk