Westminster City Council is to pledge £1.5m towards the development of a National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure.

If the initiative gets the go ahead from the government next month, the city council will become the centre of excellence for physical activity in the region.

The investment forms part of the council’s £4.3m plans to build an eco-friendly sport and community centre on Crompton Street, Paddington.

The National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure is currently in its business planning stage and is a government initiative pioneered by SkillsActive, the sector skills council for the active leisure and learning sector.

Andy Durrant, principal sports unit manager at Westminster City Council, said: “One of the key government and Westminster objectives is to raise the standards and skill levels of the entire country’s workforce to be able meet the challenges of the 21st century.

“We are involved with the National Skills Academy in a number of ways – as an employer, a member of both the national board and regional operational group, plus having the centre of excellence based at Crompton Street.

“Westminster’s partnership with the skills academy is a crucial part of our ‘One City’ programme, a five-year strategy to build strong communities and deliver excellent council services in Westminster. To achieve this, there has to be a centrally coordinated structure to access skills and development to help combat the challenges. The National Skills Academy will be the best body to address this, as it will bring together the updated methods, ways of thinking and higher expectations that our workforce currently lacks.”

Work on the Crompton Street site is expected to be completed by January next year.