New play area and adult outdoor fitness site planned next to this Lancashire leisure centre

North Meols Parish Council are seeking the permission of West Lancashire Borough Council to make the development at land to the rear of Banks Leisure Centre, Greaves Hall Avenue, Banks.

An agent’s planning statement says: “The local area currently lacks high quality play equipment and offers no public fitness equipment. The proposal provides high quality play equipment, in facilitating imaginative play for a wide range of ages and abilities and encourages active lifestyles amongst adults of all fitness levels, in line with aspirations stated in the West Lancashire Borough Council Open Space Assessment Report 2018.”

The proposal includes plans for a sports equipment storage container to the southern border of the site, needed to securely house outdoor sports equipment, such as goal posts and archery equipment, related to use of the MUGA. The sports equipment is currently stored within Banks Leisure Centre, where it is restricts use of the space and is said to pose health and safety hazards. Three picnic benches are proposed in between the play and fitness spaces to provide seating and resting space and encourage supervision of the site.

Equipment

The proposed adult equipment includes magnetic bells, 40cm and 60cm steps, an arm bike pro, am exercise bike, and a bench for back workouts.

Proposed children’s play equipment includes a spinner bowl, a ‘stinger’ springy, a climbing block, a carousel, a wheelchair carousel, swings, and a ‘taiga with roof’, which includes a climbing wall and two slides.

A decision will be made in coming weeks by West Lancashire Borough Council.