POULTON is set to get a new leisure centre which will create up to 20 jobs for people in Wyre.

The new centre, called FX Leisure, will be situated on the site of the old Premier Footwear factory on Premier Way, near to Garstang Road East.

It will be run as a members' club, and is to have state-of-the-art facilities, including a purpose-built gym, a swimming pool, steam room, sauna, jacuzzi, an aerobics studio offering a variety of classes, sunbeds, a hair and beauty salon and a cafe area.

The 37 by 27 metre club will also have 72 car parking spaces and there is land to the east of the building which could be used for possible future extensions.

Work on the centre -- which has been designed with a wave-shaped roof -- has started and FX Leisure bosses hope that the club will be completed by the end of March next year.

FX Leisure partner, Stuart Taylor, said that the new club would be creating jobs for gym and aerobics instructors, receptionists, duty managers, hairdressers for the hair salon and catering staff.

The company already has a club in Warrington and one in Orrell, Wigan. Planning permission for the new Poulton club was granted by Wyre Borough councillors recently.

But there were concerns that the new club would be in direct competition with nearby sport and health facilities, including Images Health Studio, based at Thornton Sports Centre on Victoria Road East, and Poulton Swimming and Fitness Centre, on Breck Road.

Drew Tommons, contract manager for Community Leisure Services Ltd, which currently operates the council's indoor leisure facilities -- including those at nearby Poulton Swimming and Fitness Centre -- said: "As a charitable company we re-invest surplus back into the centres we manage for the benefit of our customers -- it is not distributed to shareholders.

"We are fully committed to working in partnership with the council to develop their facilities to meet the changing needs of our customers."