A NEW £1.3m sports centre to promote health and exercise in Malvern will be built thanks to a National Lottery grant.

The sports hall, for Dyson Perrins CE High School, received the go-ahead after a Worcestershire County Council bid for £466,000 of National Lottery cash was accepted this week.

Although the centre will be based at the Yates Hay Road school it will also be open to the public in a bid to improve participation rates in sports and encourage daily exercise.

The school's current basic sports hall and gymnasium will be refurbished and joined together by the community centre, to include new changing rooms, showers and disabled facilities.

The project is due to be completed and opened by April next year.

"It's fantastic news because our PE facilities have been the same for about 20 years," said Tim Hill, assistant headteacher and school improvement manager.

"The centre will also been managed into the evenings so the local community can really benefit, which is part-and-parcel of modern schools."

The facility is being funded in a three-way split, with Malvern Hills District Council contributing £434,000 and Worcestershire County Council £400,000.

MHDC has also set aside £50,000 a year to manage, promote and maintain the sports hall.

"It's extremely good news for the children and the wider community and it's very exciting," said Malvern Hills District Councillor Tom Wells.

"We are trying to draw in people who perhaps aren't members of sports clubs or wouldn't normally exercise, to let them know how vital it is.

"This is a good way of spending public money and it reflects a great deal of hard work behind the scenes to achieve this money."