A WARNING has been issued that there is a long way to go before the future of a popular sports centre is assured.

Basingstoke Sports Centre and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) have met over the centre’s future; in doubt due to concerns over the approved lease of land in Basing View to US company Village Hotels to potentially build a 153-room hotel, with full leisure facilities, could impact the sports centre.

Estimates gathered by the Basingstoke Sports Trust, the charity which runs the centre, suggest the centre will lose between £500,000 and £635,000 per year if the development goes ahead.

A campaign, Save Our Sports Centre, backed by the Gazette, has now received more than 8,000 signatures with customers and businesses coming out in support for the centre which was used almost one million times last year.

James Starbuck, chief executive of the trust, said: “We are pleased that we have now had meetings with the council although we are still a long way from feeling confident that we have a secure future in the town.

“The best result for us would be for the Village Urban Resort’s leisure offering to not go ahead on the scale that is currently proposed. In our meetings with the council they have not been prepared to discuss the proposed development, only to talk about the mitigation of its impact. And so that is still a significant concern for us.”

Martyn Frost, chairman of Basingstoke Sports Trust, added: “At the end of the day we have to do whatever we can to preserve the future of the sports centre that has been serving this town so well for almost 50 years. In the meantime, I would urge people to continue campaigning for the future of the centre – please sign our petition if you have not already done so.”

The petition can be viewed at change.org/p/basingstoke-deane-borough-council-save-basingstoke-sports-centre.

Cllr Simon Bound, BDBC cabinet member for communities and community safety, said: “We had a very positive and constructive meeting with the sports trust and we now have a series of meetings planned to continue these discussions and work closely together. We have always valued the work of Basingstoke Sports Centre and continue to do so, supporting the trust through improvement projects and funding to deliver health programmes. It is important that we work with the trust and we will continue to do this to ensure its valuable contribution to the life of the borough is maintained.”