CHIPPING Norton Leisure Centre is set for a major upgrade after councillors gave funding the green light.

The centre, based at Chipping Norton School, will be given an artificial turf pitch which will replace the existing tarmac multi-use games area, while the size of the gym will be increased by 60 per cent.

Cabinet members at West Oxfordshire District Council approved an investment of £100,000 for the all-weather pitch which will be sourced from section 106 developer funding generated by a residential scheme in the town.

A further £10,000 of this cash will go towards the gym improvements which will also receive £244,000 of funding from the council’s leisure facilities operator GLL Better.

Cllr Jeanette Baker, cabinet member for communities, leisure and tourism, said: “Chipping Norton Leisure Centre is hugely popular and this work will help meet growing demand from new members as well as improving facilities.

“It is great to see developer contributions making such a difference and I look forward to seeing the results in the near future.”

Funding for the project was approved at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday July 18 and is subject to the usual 10-day call-in period.

A £9.3 million cash boost was promised for council-run leisure centres across west Oxfordshire in June 2017.

The funding, distributed over 10 years, will come from GLL.