WITH fewer than 500 signatures required, the campaign to save the Basingstoke Sports Centre is making a big push to hit the 10,000 names milestone.

In May of this year, The Gazette launched its Save Our Sports Centre campaign amidst fears that a proposed business class hotel in Basing View with leisure facilities, could have an adverse impact on the more than one million visitors to the town centre sporting facility.

A petition to help save the charity-run centre was set up for it to eventually be put before Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to show how vital people find the service, which accommodates sports clubs, yoga classes, rehabilitation classes for the elderly and much more.

This week, chief executive at the sports centre James Starbuck said: “We are really humbled by the support we have received thus far.

“We just want to see those sig- natures coming so that we can present our case at the full council meeting in February with the 10,000 signatures.”

Run by the charity Basingstoke Sports Trust, the centre has been in communication with officers at the borough council about the progress of the proposed 153- room hotel, with full leisure facilities, conference spaces and a restaurant, bar and coffee shop, by US company Village Hotels.

Since the launch of the cam- paign the public support for the centre has been huge, and the latest accolade for the trust came at the INSPIRE Business awards 2017, when it was presented with the Business and the Community Award.

Mr Starbuck added: “Having that award shows that we are do- ing something for the communi- ty and we are providing a service people want.”

Since concerns were initially raised the trust and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council con- tinue to work closely to assess the impact the proposed hotel would have on the sports centre.

To help the centre reach its goal of 10,000 signatures either visit the centre in Festival Place to sign or go to change.org/p/bas- ingstoke-deane-borough-council- save-basingstoke-sports-centre.