Football pitch will stay at Commonwealth Games aquatics site

Council leaders in Sandwell have revealed the layout for the 2022 Commonwealth Games facility, which will later be used as a new leisure centre for the borough, ahead of work due to start in the winter.

There had been concerns about the playing fields disappearing – but it has been confirmed there would still be enough room for a football pitch at Londonderry Lane in Smethwick for sports teams to take advantage of.

The aquatics centre will stage swimming and diving events at the 2022 Games and showcase the Black Country to the watching world.

A full planning application is expected before the end of the year.

Once the competition is over it will be opened to the public as a leisure centre, with people to be given a say over what facilities are included.

An Olympic-sized swimming pool and 25m diving pool will feature.

Early plans for the facility show an entrance point off Londonderry Lane, with parking spaces in front and to the left of the building.

A park on the opposite side will be improved, bosses said, while a football pitch will be available on the far side of the site, running parallel to Queen’s Road.

Sandwell’s leisure boss Councillor Bill Gavan said: “We’re now getting close to the planning application being finalised.

"We’ve outlined what we want to do with the site, which includes a new urban park, keeping and improving a football pitch and building new team changing rooms as well as a brand new outdoor children’s play area.

“Not to mention the fantastic facilities we’ll have inside the building.

“It’s exciting for us to be hosting an international event while creating a building that’s going to deliver top-class leisure opportunities for local people.”

Council leader Councillor Steve Eling said: “Smethwick desperately needs new leisure facilities – the big public survey we did last year told us that.

“We’ve worked hard to identify a suitable site that is not green belt land and to draw up plans that retain this as a green space combined with what will be a fantastic leisure facility.

“It’s a huge honour for us to be hosting the swimming and diving events for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“And not only that – but also for us to have the opportunity to build the best possible leisure centre we can for Smethwick,” Councillor Eling added.