A new swimming pool, all-weather pitch and six tennis courts are among the facilities proposed at a planned £15m Didcot sports centre.

Sports groups have welcomed the prospect of a multi-use leisure centre on the edge of Didcot, which has been recommended by a group of experts.

The consultants' report was commissioned by South Oxfordshire District Council to increase the town's ageing sports facilities.

The council said it would be similar in size to the White Horse Leisure Centre in Abingdon and bigger than any existing sports centre in south Oxfordshire.

And it would help meet the shortfall of sport and recreation provision in Didcot, replacing the Didcot Wave, in Newlands Avenue.

Keith Walton, a Didcot Table Tennis Club coach, said: "At the moment we play in the British Rail Staff Club, it's an old pre-fabricated building and a bit decrepit. We would use the new centre as a base. Didcot has been very strong in table tennis and it has dipped because we haven't got the facilities."

Roy Hayes, of Didcot Swimming Club, said: "I would welcome any new sports facilities. Didcot has been very poorly supplied with all sports. But my main concern would be whether groups like us could afford to use a new facility. We struggle to pay for the Didcot Wave now."

The plans were also welcomed by Didcot Rugby Club who only have one rugby pitch for three teams.

The report recommends an eight-lane 25m swimming pool, teaching pool, eight-court sports hall, dance studio, multi-purpose studio, fitness studio with 100 work stations and junior fitness area, two squash courts, a creche, and a cafe and soft play area inside the centre.

Outside, it said an all-weather pitch, two multi-use games areas, and six tennis courts should be supplied.

Additional fitness facilities should be incorporated at the soon-to-be-built 3,300 home Great Western Park estate on the western edge of town and another site for outdoor sports pitches earmarked as the town's population grows. No sites for the new centre have yet been identified and it is not known what would become of the old Didcot Wave site.

Bill Service, the district council's cabinet member for leisure, said: "This draft report is a positive move in helping us deliver future services and facilities for a growing population."

To see the report go to southoxon.gov.uk/haveyoursay Comments can also be sent to South Oxfordshire District Council, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford 0X10 8QX, before October 31.