MORE areas across the town may see the introduction of neighbourhood hubs after the transformation of Great Sankey Leisure Centre into one is complete.

A £4million investment is set to turn the building into a state of the art hub, with access to facilities including GP services, a library and dance studios.

Although costing slightly more than initially thought, the renovation, which aside from a council loan, will be funded by external grants from bodies including the FA, NHS and Sport England, is on track.

Construction is set to be completed in 2016, after which, the council could begin to put forward plans for more hubs in the town, following successful projects in Orford and Woolston.

"The proposal is about a complete rebuild of Great Sankey, it was about doing something on the west side of town," said cllr Russ Bowden, executive member for corporate resources and assignments.

"The main thing is about footfall - in Orford there was around an 800% increase in memberships and similar numbers in the use of the library.

"With the funds generated, we can then invest in other facilities - there are other parts of town where we should be looking at the next stage on investment as part of the health and wellbeing strategy."

Finances concerning the Great Sankey project were discussed earlier this month after it came to light it would cost more than believed, but cllr Bowden insists the development will be crucial for the community.

"It is a really good project and we have now agreed how it will be done, it is just about developing that into a scheme and confirming the grant funding to get it started," he added.

"In the short term it will mean a loss of those facilities at Great Sankey but what we will end up with is something a lot better."