Wilson Playing Fields

Introduction

Welcome to our public engagement page for Wilson Playing Fields Leisure Centre.

Hyndburn Borough Council are excited to announce plans for a new leisure centre coming to Clayton-le-Moors Accrington to replace the existing clubhouse on Wilson Playing Fields.

The project team have been working hard to design proposals that meet the varying needs of the community in providing modern, fit-for-purpose leisure and wellness facilities for generations to come.

Now is the time to let us know what you think about the design proposals ahead of the proposed planning application being submitted.

Undertaking public engagement with the local community in advance of submitting a planning application is an important part of the process for the applicant and allows members of the public and the local community to engage with the vision for the site and to provide valuable feedback on the proposals.

Once the application has been submitted there will also be an opportunity to comment as part of the planning application process.

The Site

The site is located on land known as Wilson Playing Fields, which consists of a series of playing fields, a running track, clubhouse building, car parking and woodland trails. The site is currently used by Rugby League, Football, Athletics and Cycling associations, Parkrun, Schools, walking groups and individual walkers.

The site is located in the Green Belt in Clayton-le-Moors, to the north of Accrington, and is surrounded by existing residential dwellings to the north, west and south. The site does not contain any listed buildings and is not located in a Conservation Area.

The Proposal

The Council has been working closely with Hyndburn Leisure for a number of years to improve Hyndburn’s Leisure facilities and to ensure that Hyndburn has appropriate and high-quality leisure facilities that will encourage more people to lead active lifestyles.

The proposed new centre will replace the outdated facilities at Mercer Hall to provide an enhancement in leisure provision. The proposed scheme has been designed to respond to the opportunities and constraints of the site and to reflect the identified needs for a variety of leisure facilities within the area.

In summary, the proposed development includes demolition of the existing clubhouse, and the erection of a new high-quality leisure centre along with associated storage, car parking and landscaping. The new building will incorporate changing and storage facilities to replace those lost from the existing clubhouse.

The new leisure centre will comprise the following:

• 25m, 4 lane pool
• Fitness Suite
• Community Room/Studio
• Café/Reception
• Changing facilities including outdoor changing
• Community Club Room

The new single-storey leisure centre building will be positioned in the north-eastern area of the site adjacent to the existing car parking areas, appropriately set back from each boundary. This allows extensive provision for landscaping, with a car parking area to the north and east of the building.

Access to the site will be taken via the existing access via Clayton Hall Drive. The development will include both the retention of existing and the creation of additional car parking spaces with new accessible parking spaces and cycle parking.

The proposal will retain the existing mature tree line along the western boundary which will provide natural screening from Whalley Road. The existing woodland paths will be retained and there will be no net loss of the playing pitches and running track facilities, although some of the pitches will be reconfigured to facilitate the proposed new building.

Due to the site’s location in the Green Belt and outside of the Town Centre, a full planning application will be supported by a Green Belt Justification Statement (including Very Special Circumstances case) and a Town Centre Sequential Assessment

Providing your Feedback

We would welcome any feedback you may have on the proposed development. To tell us what you think, please use the feedback form below. 

Alternatively, if you prefer not to use a computer, please feel free to post your comments to:

Studio 012,
Haylofts,
St Thomas’ Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1  4LE

We will also be hosting a public engagement session on 5th December 2022 at Bank Mill Centre, Great Harwood between 10:30am-1:00pm and Clayton Community Centre between 4:30pm-7:30pm

Please provide your comments by 14th December 2022, further details are also available at: https://www.hyndburnleisure.co.uk/the-hyndburn-leisure-transformation/

All feedback will remain anonymous but will be shared with Hyndburn Borough Council and will form part of the Statement of Community Involvement which will be submitted as part of the planning application. Please send any comments you may have to consultation@dppukltd.com where your feedback will be logged and any queries answered.

Please specify in the feedback form whether your comments are in relation to Wilson Playing Fields Leisure Centre, or Hyndburn Leisure Centre.