Camden Council is set to open a new 7,000sq m (76,000sq ft) leisure centre next spring, as part of its £85m Swiss Cottage redevelopment scheme.

The project is being funded through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the council and construction firms Barratt Homes and Dawnay Day.

The leisure centre will feature a 170-station fitness suite, which will be equipped by Technogym; a four-court sports hall with 100 spectator seats; two squash courts; a climbing wall; two multi-purpose exercise studios and a café with indoor and outdoor seating.

The pool area will comprise a 25m, eight-lane competition swimming pool with 200 spectator seats and a teaching pool with a moveable floor.

Councillor Phil Turner, executive member for leisure and community services, said: “Our aim is to develop a network of accessible, cost-efficient, well-designed and managed swimming pools to cater for a range of recreational, educational, health and club needs.”

The centre will be surrounded by a landscaped park – designed by architects Gustafson Porter – and feature a new Football Association-standard floodlit, all-weather football pitch.

There will also be an onsite doctors’ surgery, which the council hopes will sign up to the GP referral scheme currently operating across half the practices in the borough.

The Swiss Cottage redevelopment also features a community centre – which opened last December – the Hampstead Theatre and the restored Swiss Cottage Central Library, which opened in 2003.

When the redevelopment was announced in March 2002, the sports centre was also scheduled to be completed by the end of 2003.

Reasons for the delay included a legal challenge asking for a review of Camden Council’s planning process for the redevelopment -– where the court ruled in the council’s favour – and investigations into rail tunnels beneath the site.

The Swiss Cottage leisure centre will be managed by Greenwich Leisure (GLL), which also operates Camden’s Oasis Sports Centre, Mornington Sports Centre and Kentish Town Sports Centre on behalf of the council.

The Kentish Town Sports Centre is set to benefit from a £17m upgrade next year. The council is currently in the process of a public consultation on the refurbishment. Details: www.camden.gov.uk