A NEW community hub will be developed at Birchwood Tennis and Leisure Centre after funding was approved.

The council’s cabinet approved the capital investment for the refurbishment, along with the relocation of Birchwood Library to an ‘underutilised area’ within the leisure and tennis centre at its meeting on Monday.

Members also gave the green light to the appointment of a contractor to undertake the main building works for the £1.529 million refurbishment.

Cllr Tony Higgins, cabinet member for leisure and community, said: “Well I’ve been looking forward to delivering this report for quite a few years now, on a number of points.

“The first point, it’s the final piece of the jigsaw following the libraries modernisation programme, if members recall in 2016-17.

“We kicked against the trend, we kept our libraries open, unlike many other authorities who chose to close their libraries, we chose to invest in our libraries, and that’s the difference.”

The proposal for the new hub ‘includes the requirement’ to relocate the library.

The total cost of £1.529 million cost is a pre-tender project estimate and has been registered in the council’s capital programme, subject to cabinet approval.

In his report, Cllr Higgins also said that the development of a new Birchwood community hub aims to improve leisure and library facilities within Birchwood, including accessibility standards, along with supporting LiveWire in achieving ‘financial savings and increased income opportunities’, while contributing to its ‘future financial sustainability’ and the ongoing delivery of leisure and library services.

He added: “Warrington Borough Council has successfully invested in a number of leisure and library based neighbourhood hubs, including Woolston, Orford, Great Sankey and more recently Bewsey and Dallam.

“Each are unique to their local areas and circumstance, with a mix of services being provided, such as health, education, lifestyle and community provision. In each case the model of provision has resulted in an increase in user numbers for both leisure and library facilities.”