PLANS for a £300 million revamp of Basingstoke’s Leisure Park have been described as a ‘speculative rollercoaster’ by one local councillor.

Last week, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) announced that it was a step closer to submitting plans for the revamp of the Leisure Park.

As previously reported in The Gazette, BDBC has entered into an agreement with NewRiver REIT Plc to deliver the proposals.

The overall regeneration of the Leisure Park has been praised by residents and council members, but the proposal for a 200,000 sq ft upmarket designer outlet village has caused some concern.

Leader of the Basingstoke Labour Group, Councillor Paul Harvey said: “We really want to see the regeneration of the Leisure Park, but what we do not need is a developer whose first interest is retail.

“This is a speculative rollercoaster ride that the council is taking people on. We do not need a new town centre outside of the town.”

If the plans goes ahead as proposed, Cllr Harvey added: “We must have the infrastructure in place first because otherwise we are going to see a build up of traffic around Kempshott and Buckskin, which residents do not want to see.”

As reported in The Gazette, part of the £300 million investment would see the Leisure Park site almost double in size to 500,000sq ft. This would introduce new leisure experiences for families as well as “high-adrenaline pursuits and state-of-the-art virtual reality e-sports”.

Some residents questioned the proposal on social media, asking whether the outlet side of the proposed design is necessary.

Ritchie Bodd said: “Why do we need another out of town ‘designer village’ when we can’t seem to fill half of Festival Place? And those proposals look all very well and good, but where is everyone supposed to park?”

Ben Franklin added: “This sounds great and all but at the same time I can’t help feel that the shopping part would be better suited to the town centre.”

BDBC cabinet member for finance, service delivery and improvement, Cllr Robert Tate, said the proposals were just the next step to help the town grow, and the leisure facilities were at the heart of the plans. This would include a new £23 million Aquadrome, which the council will run as part of the park, without public investment to build it.

Cllr Tate said: “The Leisure Park provides a different opportunity for the town.

“There will be some impact on the town centre but studies we have done have shown this to be minimal, and we hope that the town centre and Leisure Park will work in tandem to bring more people to Basingstoke.

“We want a Leisure Park that can morph and transform to suit the needs of the town and development as it grows.”