GYM users in Witney look set to get new equipment and facilities thanks to a £350,000 investment in the Windrush Leisure Centre.

GLL Nexus, which runs the Witan Way centre on behalf of owner West Oxfordshire District Council, looks set to splash the cash.

The money will pay for a new entrance to cut queues during peak times, an expansion of the gym and new exercise equipment.

The centre, the district council’s busiest leisure centre, attracted a million visits last year.

GLL said the investment could also lead to money being spent improving the centres in Chipping Norton and Carterton.

The district council’s cabinet will meet today to decide whether to allow Nexus to make the improvements.

Officers have recommended approval.

GLL national partnership director Rick Durrant said: “We are very keen to improve the offer and the quality of services in Witney.

“All the indications show that, despite the economic downturn, there are more people participating in gym sessions.”

The changes to the gym will see more equipment installed, space between equipment increased and partition walls knocked through.

Mr Durrant said: “We want to make it into one continuous facility, so it feels like a big club.”

To create the extra space, two squash courts will be converted into gym space. The centre has five courts and staff said bookings showed three courts could meet demand.

Mr Durrant said the investment coincided well with the London Olympics, adding: “We want to jump on the back of the feelgood factor.

“The whole point of the Olympics is about the legacy and getting more people and new people into sport, and our investment will do that.”

Mr Durrant said the company was also looking at investing in its other leisure centres it runs in West Oxfordshire, at Chipping Norton and Carterton.

But he added: “It’s all on the drawing board at the moment.”

If the district council grants permission to expand the Wind-rush centre, GLL’s board will also need to approve the funding before the work can go ahead.

Mr Durrant said he hoped work would be completed by the end of the year.

Richard Langridge, the district council’s cabinet member for local economy and communities, welcomed the investment plan.