A new £12.2m swimming pool and fitness complex - one of the largest to be built at a UK university - is expected to open at the University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, in summer 2010.

Hertfordshire-based construction company Willmott Dixon is building the new facility, which has been designed by the London-based architects behind the 2012 Olympic Aquatic Centre, S&P. Facilities at the new complex will include an eight-lane, 25m swimming pool with a partially moveable floor to create depths of up to 2m (6.6ft), and able to host water-based sports such as water polo, canoe polo and sub-aqua.

The centre will also boast a 900sq m (9,688sq ft) fitness suite - incorporating 200 stations equipped by Technogym, spectator seating, changing rooms, a health suite with a sauna and a steamroom and a small café. Conference and meeting delegates visiting the University of Leeds will have the chance to take advantage of the facilities when the new complex opens, as well as students, staff and the local community.

Head of sales and marketing for the University of Leeds' conference facilities, Richard Handscombe, said: "Conference and meetings are, by their very nature, quite sedentary, so what better way to boost your energy levels by pumping weights or taking to the exercise bike or running machine after a long session?"