AMBITIOUS plans for a new £25 million leisure centre are one step closer as Chelmsford City Council has appointed a design team.

The council plans to create a new leisure centre as part of the Riverside Ice and Leisure redevelopment project.

There are currently plans in the pipeline for a new 10-lane swimming pool, sensory pool, gym and ice rink.

The site currently has a gym, sports hall, swimming pool and ice rink.

The gym, sports hall and pool are expected to stay open to the public until the new centre is open.

The council has announced it has appointed a design team but said it cannot yet reveal who they are.

It has also approved £945,000 to meet the full costs of the design team during the project and is set to reveal the designs and the identity of the designers in the coming weeks.

The council hopes to have the new leisure centre open by 2018.

Roy Whitehead, leader of Chelmsford City Council, said the council will now be working with the design team on the finer details of the plans.

He added: “The design team will now go away and will complete and finish the designs and then they will be coming back to us for approval.

“Things are now moving along, which is good news.”

Julia Jeapes, councillor responsible for leisure, said these are exciting times.

She added: “We have had a programme where we chose and selected a design team and this has been an ongoing process since January.

“It has been a competitive process and we have had some excellent submissions of designs from different design companies and teams to choose from, and as we have chosen we are now moving forward with the redevelopment of the site and leisure centre.

“We are very pleased with the appointment of a design team and the allocated money from the council for the design team.”

Ms Jeapes said that the progress means that the initial idea of com - pletion by autumn 2018 is now becoming a reality.

She added: “We can now move Plans to expandRiverside Ice and Leisure as it currently looks forward and make sure that this new leisure centre is as good as it can be for the people of Chelmsford.

“It’s important that we get every aspect and part right, because this project is not just about a new swimming pool, it’s much more than just a swimming pool, it’s a gym and of course the ice rink.

“We will do our best to make this a great facility for the people of Chelmsford.”