Wednesbury Leisure Centre in Sandwell will close at the end of May to be replaced with a new £7m centre.

Only the swimming pools and gym will be demolished initially - the sports hall will remain intact, but will be closed until the new centre is built.

Council chiefs say they will now "fast track" the building of a new centre - and have asked deputy leader councillor Steve Eling and the working group delivering the new Tipton and West Bromwich pools to take the project forward.

Eling said: "We will be able to provide a modern, energy-efficient centre which can give people in Wednesbury new, high quality facilities to replace the current pools, which are around 40 years old.

“The next stage is for the buildings to be demolished and works undertaken on the site in preparation for the new building.”

Wednesbury Leisure Centre manager, John Harling, said: "We are contacting our existing members with further information and exclusive offers.

"We are delighted to be running the new Wednesbury Leisure Centre and residents can look forward to an exciting pre-opening membership offer coming soon."

The move follows the closure last year of the centre's two pools for maintenance work, including associated asbestos removal.

During routine repairs to the filtration system at the pools, inspections found further significant maintenance and structural problems that put the facility beyond economic repair.