ST Ives will get a new bowling alley as part of a �4million investment in leisure in the town.

ST Ives will get a new bowling alley as part of a �3.8million investment in leisure in the town.

Cabinet members at Huntingdonshire District Council agreed on Thursday last week to spend the money modernising the One Leisure Centre, which would bring it in line with its other facilities in Huntingdon and St Neots.

Plans to redevelop the site will increase the size of the centre by 570sqm to 8,070sqm and transform much of the building, which was built in 1974. An extension to the front of the building will create a new reception entrance, party room, office and a caf�. Changes will also include a much larger fitness suite, a new Pure day spa, a five-lane ten-pin bowling alley, martial arts area and improved changing facilities.

The leisure centre will remain open to the public while the work, expected to take a year, is carried out.

Simon Bell, general manager for One Leisure, said: “The opportunity to redevelop One Leisure St Ives is eagerly awaited and will be great for the whole community. It will provide quality, up-to-date and different facilities that meet our residents’ needs in a way that we have not been able to before. This is a long-term investment that we know will be attractive and will encourage many new visitors of all ages to our flagship centre.”