As the Evening Leader revealed last week, Deeside Leisure Centre is set for a major investment.

Under the plans, sports such as indoor bowling, netball and basketball could eventually be on offer at Deeside.

The centre's famous ice rink should also be retained, according to consultants Pan Leisure.

Ian Budd, Flintshire Council's director of lifelong learning, said the Queensferry facility is important locally, regionally and nationally as its ice rink is the only one for miles around.

He said it is extremely popular, attracting more than 600,000 people in 2006-07, but that it is in desperate need of investment.

"The buildings are very tired and the environment is in need of significant investment", he told councillors at a meeting earlier this week.

He added that it should be an iconic centre that plays a part in the regeneration of Deeside as a whole.

The eventual plan is for the centre to house a range of educational, cultural as well as leisure services.

Colin Everett, chief executive of Flintshire Council, said re-developing the centre will be one of the local authority's main priorities in the coming years.

He said: "This is a huge project and we only get one shot at it."
Detailed proposals will be presented to the council's executive group in December.

In 2006, the council considered demolishing sections of Deeside Leisure Centre and selling the land for retail and housing, hoping the cash could be used to improve facilities at the county's other centres.

However, the plans were scrapped when it emerged the money raised would only fund partial refurbishment of the site.

Meanwhile, the county council is still working on its leisure strategy, which will detail proposals on what to do with Flintshire's public leisure centres.

Mr Everett said Deeside needed to be dealt with individually, as it has a regional rather than a local importance.