WITH nearly one million visitors a year potentially hit by the knock-on impact of closing Basingstoke Sports Centre, The Gazette today launches its 'Save Our Sports Centre' campaign.

A number of sports clubs, yoga classes and the 950,000 users a year of the sports centre could be hit if the proposed hotel in Basing View is given the green light.

As previously reported in The Gazette, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council approved a lease to US company Village Hotels to potentially build a 153-room hotel, with full leisure facilities, conference spaces and a restaurant, bar and coffee shop.

The leisure facilities offered by the hotel would have an adverse effect on the sports centre, which is run by the charity Basingstoke Sports Trust, and could lead to its closure within two years.

This would mean a loss of nearly 200 jobs and a loss of near 2,000 members from a membership of 7,000, who use the sports centre and visit Festival Place.

Also hit would be services such as cardiac rehabilitation, Strong and Steady classes for elderly people and schools who use the centre for swimming lessons.

Our 'Save Our Sports Centre' campaign will highlight the work this vital facility offers and to evaluate what would be lost if it closes.

Basingstoke Gazette:

If built, the hotel would effectively kill off a thriving community business in the heart of the town centre.

The Basingstoke Sports Centre, run by the charity Basingstoke Sports Trust, has nearly one million visitors a year and runs several health and fitness classes.

Chief executive at the sports centre James Starbuck said: “We want the council to be fully aware of the impact the closure of the centre would have on the business and the town.

“We will be lobbying and campaigning until they have the full picture and understand why we are so concerned.”

Mr Starbuck said there had been little communication with the council and trustees were growing increasingly concerned.

Closing the centre would cost nearly 200 jobs, with a loss of almost 2,000 members, from a membership of 7,000, who not only use the sports centre, but also visit Festival Place.

It would also no longer be able to provide vital services such as GP-referred cardiac rehabilitation, Strong and Steady classes which help elderly people, and swimming lessons for a number of schools.

The charity’s chairman Martyn Frost said: “We have a strategy of expansion, but with this threat looming over us we cannot get investors.

“If the hotel is built it would be between a £600,000 to £800,000 loss per year out of our reserves and would mean we would effectively be closed in a year and a half.”

This paper has launched a petition to put to the council to ensure the centre’s future.

Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Basingstoke Maria Miller is backing the campaign.

She said: “I think the sports centre is fantastic and it does incredible work, not just for fitness but for the community. “It is extremely important that any new development is not to the detriment of any existing business in the town.”

Leader of the Basingstoke Labour Group Cllr Paul Harvey said: “It is for the borough council to start taking the town centre more seriously and preserve the assets we have in it.”

Chairman of the Top of The Town Association, Alan Stone was another back the campagin, adding: "As a businessman and chair of the Top of The Town Association, we are against the plans for the hotel on the ground of fairness.

"The sports centre already provides fantastic facilities for the people of the town."  

Chief executive of Basingstoke Together, which helps raise business profiles, Karen Wild said the closure of the sports centre would have a “significant” impact on the footfall of Festival Place and would leave a “white elephant” in the town centre.

In 2002 the borough council invested £1.7m in the Sports Centre and said it is looking to continue to support the organisation as much is it can.

Cllr Simon Bound, cabinet member for communities and community safety said: “The Sports Centre provides residents with a valuable service promoting and encouraging health and wellbeing in our community and we are very appreciative and supportive of this.

“We have made significant financial contributions to the centre over many years and we will continue to support them to provide a number of initiatives for the local community.”

This campaign aims to get more than 10,000 signatures to put before the full council.

To sign the petition visit change.org/p/basingstokedeane-borough-council-savebasingstoke-sports-centre.