OLYMPIC swimming coach Kevin Brooks hopes the new Wycombe Sports Centre will help to develop the next generation of sporting stars.

Kevin Brooks, Head Coach at Wycombe District Swimming Club and part of Team GB’s London 2012 Olympic coaching team, visited the Handy Cross site this week to oversee the ongoing development.

Contractors Willmott Dixon has been working over the last few days to dig out the area for the 50m pool at the multi-million-pound complex.

Mr Brooks said: “It was fantastic to visit the site and see the beginnings of what will become the home of a much bigger swimming club.

“Our club caters for all aspects of swimming, from community fitness programmes right up to the highest levels of the sport.

“The club has assisted the council’s officers on the type of facility that it needs to be and I'm delighted Wycombe will have a world class facility for future aspiring Olympians and the wider community to use."

The leisure centre will also include 12 courts, a 150 station gym, a bowls hall, two squash courts, a climbing wall and a cafe.

Cllr Richard Scott, WDC’s Leader, said: “It’s fantastic to see the progress on site and to think that this huge hole in the ground will become a state of the art swimming facility which the people of Wycombe District can be genuinely proud of.

“I’m so pleased to share this moment with Kevin Brooks who coached the London 2012 swimming team for the Olympics.

“He’s worked with us to ensure we have a real Olympic legacy by making sure that the pool we are building at Handy Cross will be not only good for pleasure and recreation but also fit for purpose for swimming clubs and elite training at regional and national level.”

The complex is scheduled to be opened next year which will be followed by the demolition of the existing sports centre to make way for a coachway park-and-ride and a new food store.