Opening date set for new £6m sports village

The Wyke Sports Village, which was first approved in 2016, will include a new cycle track that can be used to host competitions and events, pavilion, all weather pitch and three grass sports pitches.

Work on the development is around three quarters completed, and the site is expected to open to the public in April.

The work, being carried out by William Birch and Son’s Ltd, is around three quarters complete and is expected to finish on time and on budget.

The former Wyke Manor School site off Wilson Road has been earmarked for a sports facility for years. Plans for the site had to go back to the drawing board in 2017 when the former school sports hall – which would have provided indoor facilities, suffered a huge blaze.

When open the site will become one of the biggest cycle facilities in the area, with 1.7km of track with 17 different variations. The track’s nine metre fall is thought to be the steepest in the country.

It will replace the cycle facilities lost when Richard Dunn Sports Centre shut in 2019, although those behind the scheme say it will be a vast improvement.

There will be cyclocross facilities and a “pump track.”

Michael Priestley, Parks and Green Spaces Manager at the Council, said: “It is a national standard track that can hold national racing events on here.

The pavilion will include changing rooms, community and office space.

The site will be the new home for local sports clubs including Football, Rugby League and Cycling clubs and is being built in partnership with Sport England, British Cycling and the Football Foundation.

Mr Priestley said the aim has been to boost the site’s green credentials. Most of the waste from the site has been re-used to create the cycle track and other parts of the site, and “thousands” of trees will be planted around the sports village once work is complete.

Mr Priestley said there will be cycle training sessions on the site, and the hope is that families access numerous sports facilities on the same visit.

He said: “The whole idea is that families can come down on a Saturday and one child can play rugby while the other does cycle training on the same site.”

The proximity to Judy Woods and the Spen Valley Greenway would also make the site attractive to cyclists.

He added: “We hope the site will almost be a ‘park and ride’ where people can drive and park here and then cycle the 20 minute ride into town.”

The Wyke development is the first of three new sports hubs planned for the District. The other two will be based at Marley in Keighley and at Myra Shay playing fields. More details of what facilities are being developed at these sites is likely to announced in early 2022.

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