Protestors say St Mary's Leisure Centre sale would be 'slap in face'

Speaking to the Echo, residents said they feel they are being ignored after it was revealed that St Mary's Leisure Centre in Bevois could be turned into flats.

At a cabinet meeting on February 21, civic chiefs will consider the future of the building which has been a controversial subject since it was closed just before Christmas.

A consultation took place on its future, which resulted in almost 1,800 people responding, with 86 per cent saying the closure would have a negative impact.

Read more: Southampton City Council responds to St Mary's Leisure Centre protest

But despite this, council officers say it should be permanently closed and disposed of.

Cabinet Member for Finance and Capital Assets, Cllr John Hannides, told the Echo “We have listened to the feedback provided through the consultation”, adding that the authority is considering investing the money received from the sale to improve community facilities nearby.

But residents and users of the centre say they are not happy, with one local, Parveen Ishfaq, 52, claiming that the council is just “doing its own thing”.

Parveen Ishfaq and Sue Atkins (right)

Parveen, who has chaired meetings of the community in a bid to keep the site open, said: “The council is not listening. How many times there’s been protests, there’s people having interviews, social media, it’s like hitting your head on a brick wall.

“We’re not going to back down, we’re still going to fight for what is the right of the community.”

Meanwhile, private hire driver, Ali Haydor, who uses the centre twice a week for badminton said “It’s a slap in the face not just to the community, to the users but also the whole consultation process.

Private hire trade representative Ali Haydor.

“The leisure centre is not just a leisure centre, it’s a community hub. My uncle got married there.”

It is also said now that the option of affordable housing could be explored at the site once it is sold.

Cllr Hannides added: “Before Solent University’s new Solent Sports Complex opened in 2019 and the impact of COVID-19 on leisure services nationally, user numbers were already declining.

“For the last nine years of a labour council, they made no investment at all which basically allowed the fabric of the building to deteriorate at a faster rate.

“As the custodians of the public purse, people would expect us to look very carefully at how money is being spent, especially when there’s a lot of pressure on budgets. It’s not something I would have chosen to want to review but Labour left us in a situation where we had no choice.”

Cllr Kaur, Leader of the Labour Group added however: “Labour always have and will remain committed to keeping St Mary’s as a community hub.

“We’ve seen a worrying trend from the Tories this year over picking and choosing which consultations they listen to.

“This is a political choice to ignore local residents and make cuts to the health and wellbeing of some of our most poorest communities, at a time when it is needed most. ”