Bolton Council is considering closing the town's publicly-funded leisure centre as it prepares to develop a new £30m swimming facility. The project is part of a £300m regeneration scheme called Bolton Innovation Zone (BIZ).

The future of the Excel Centre at Bolton Community College — opened in 1996 —is being reviewed as the council intends to create a new leisure and academic facility in association with NHS Bolton and the University of Bolton. The campus site on Manchester Road is to be sold to developers to provide funds to finance the relocation of the college to a new position on Deane Road.

The new 13,000sq m (139,930sq ft) sports complex could include an eight-lane, 25m competition swimming pool with seating for 250 spectators, a 12-station fitness suite, aerobics studio and a hydrotherapy pool. The complex will be built on the now demolished Students' Union building on the Deane Road campus of the University of Bolton.

Plans also include a four-storey walk-in healthcare centre, with GP out-of-hours services, two university sports science laboratories and new teaching facilities. The sports hall at the current Deane campus is set to be replaced with a new sports facility with four indoor courts, a climbing wall and running lane. A council spokesperson said: "Phase one of the £152m public sector investment in the BIZ is already underway with developments including the co-location of the colleges to a site on Deane Road, and the new multi-storey car park.

“The second phase will involve procuring a commercial developer for the rest of BIZ, including the Manchester road site."