The plans have been launched by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), who already manage Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Lee Valley White Water Centre, both of which were key venues for London 2012.

LVRPA wants the new complex to replace the ageing Lee Valley Ice Centre, whose future is currently in doubt and which is struggling to meet the demand. 

More than 275,000 people a year currently visit the facility built in 1984 and opened by Britain's Olympic ice dance gold medallists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

Plans for the new centre are due to be officially submitted in the autumn. 

Designed by award-winning architect FaulknerBrowns, the new facility is intended to be completed by 2023.

Under the plans released by LVRPA, the new £30 million ($37 million/€33 million) centre would double the amount of ice and include a health club with gym floor and a dance studio. 

Plans also include the transformation of the surrounding landscape, replacing areas "devoid of ecological value" with significant native planting.

"Lee Valley Ice Centre is hugely popular, open up to 19 hours a day, seven days a week - but recent operational problems have shown that it’s reaching the end of its working life and if it’s not replaced, it will be lost," LVRPA chief executive Shaun Dawson said.

"We’re proposing a fantastic new ice centre which would also act as a gateway to the surrounding open space.

"It would be the only twin Olympic-sized venue in South-East England and would enable many more people to get active on the ice, as well as use the gym, dance studios, café and community spaces.

"We believe these opportunities would benefit people from the local community, across the capital and from the wider region."