Work has begun on a £7m indoor sports complex at Southampton University's Highfield campus.

The new centre, adjacent to the Students' Union building, will include a six-lane 25-metre swimming pool, a multi-use sports hall large enough to contain eight badminton courts and a fitness suite with 100 stations. Accommodation will also be provided for staff in the department of sport and recreation, and in addition there will be a large reception area and a caf.

Hampshire-based Dean and Dyball Construction is to build the complex.

Work, which began this week, will be carried out by Dean and Dyball's southern region from its offices at Ringwood.

The university has been praised by city councillors for its consultation work with local residents, and for its plans for extensive tree and shrub planting to replace the trees lost on the site of the new building. There was also praise for the attractiveness of the proposed building, which has been designed by Rick Mather Architects, which has overseen the development of the Highfield campus since the mid-1990s. The design incorporates a glass frontage on University Road that will provide views through the swimming pool.

Dr Bill Harris, director of sport and recreation, said the new complex would make a tremendous difference to the university and also to the local community, as well as being a significant factor in retaining and attracting students.

Dean and Dyball said work will be completed by November 2003.