THE long awaited new �2.36million sports centre will open in Cambourne on Thursday.

The centre will have a four-court sports hall, fully equipped gym and a separate dance studio. It also includes changing rooms, a meeting/reception area, full disabled access, plus 144 car parking spaces and 60 cycle parking spaces outside.

Building work on the centre in Back Lane began on November 24 last year and was completed a year and a day later by Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes as part of the firms’ agreement to provide community facilities alongside the thousands of new homes which make up Cambourne.

Neville Stebbing, Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes’ project director for Cambourne, said: “The opening of this beautifully equipped sports centre is wonderful news for the people of Cambourne, and it’s a real pleasure to be able provide such a fabulous facility having worked closely with the parish council to ensure it’s something the community will really appreciate.

“This, together with all the other public facilities we have already provided, including the recently-opened sports pavilion next door to the centre, means that everyone in Cambourne now has the opportunity to enjoy healthy sport and exercise in their own community.”