Sheffield has edged closer to realising its Olympic legacy programme after plans were unveiled for a new £7m sports centre and swimming pool.

The proposed centre would be built on the Thorncliffe Recreation Ground in High Green and help fill the gap left by a £50m programme of cuts which has seen many existing facilities close, including Stocksbridge pool in April.

It is expected to feature a 25m six-lane pool, community gym, dance studio and specialist health
consultation rooms, bringing together physical activity and health services under one roof for the first time in the city.

Sheffield City Council hopes detailed plans can be drawn up in early spring with a view to opening during the second half of 2015.

Set to be funded by the government, Sheffield City Council and Ecclesfield Parish Council, the site would form a district sports hub of a £10m Olympic legacy collaboration between the city and Sport England to replace ageing and underused facilities with new streamlined services.

The plan is to develop a National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM), comprising the proposed Thorncliffe site, together with upgrades to Shiregreen’s Concord Sports Centre and a major overhaul of Graves Tennis and Leisure Centre.

Sheffield is one of only three cities in the UK - alongside Loughborough and London - to create such a centre, with the goal of promoting sport and exercise medicine across the country in the wake of the London 2012 Olympics.

Dr Robert Copeland, Sheffield NCSEM Project Manager, said: "This is a huge project for Sheffield and represents real innovation in terms of the co-­location of physical activity with health services."

The components of the Sheffield NCSEM are to be run by the city’s two universities and the NHS.