Plymouth City Council (PCC) and operator Everyone Active have announced that plans are being put in place to open the new £46.5m Life Centre to the public on 23-25 March 2012.

It follows the confirmation from contractor Balfour Beatty that the Archial-designed facility is now scheduled to be officially handed over to Everyone Active on 27 February.

Balfour Beatty told PCC earlier this month that a "number of factors" had led to the need to revise the contract completion date, including delays in acquiring materials from Europe.

PCC leader Vivien Pengelly said: "It's fantastic that we now have a planned opening date for the Plymouth Life Centre and people can finally start counting down the days to using this incredible facility.

"We are obviously disappointed that the centre will be opening a few weeks later than expected but we have to remember that this has been a major project to create a world-class facility that will cater for the city's sporting needs for many years."

Details: www.plymouth.gov.uk