Workington's new £11.3 million leisure centre is almost ready.

This is the first look at its 25-metre eight-lane swimming pool, which was filled for the first time this week.

Robertson Construction, which is building the Brow Top centre, plans to ‘hand it over’ on August 15.

Allerdale council, which commissioned the building, said it planned to open the building to the public in early September.

A council spokesman said: “The pools are full of water, the gym equipment is going in this week, the climbing wall, fitness studios and squash courts are ready.

“We’re at the stage where we are finishing all the last-minute jobs before hand over.”

The centre, which will replace the town’s existing facility at Moorclose, will also feature a smaller teaching pool, spectator seating, a 90-station gym, studios, sports hall, three five-a-side artificial sports pitches, a sauna and a steam room.

The new leisure centre was expected to be open in time for the summer, but Storm Desmond in December slowed down the work.

Andy McLeod, managing director for Robertson Construction England, said: “Fortunately, the leisure centre managed to avoid the worst of the bad weather that hit Workington in December, though the project did suffer a number of additional challenges that slowed site progress overall.

“However, we implemented our contingency plan and kept things moving.”

This week, Allerdale council has lodged a planning application to demolish the leisure centre and swimming pool at Moorclose.