VIEWS are being sought on the future of a Southampton leisure complex that re-opened earlier this year.
The St Mary's centre was closed in December 2021 by the previous Tory-run council, which argued that the cost of running the facility was too high.
But shortly after Labour took control of the authority the new leader, Cllr Satvir Kaur, pledged to reopen the site.
Now the council has launched a 12-week public consultation on the future of the centre.
Young people celebrate the reopening of St Mary's Leisure Centre earlier this year (Image: Newsquest.)
Outlining the proposed future use of the building a council spokesperson said St Mary's was defined as a centre for mixed leisure, wellbeing and community use.
They added: "It will offer a range of gym, badminton, squash, fitness classes and the sporting facilities will be available for hire by groups and clubs
"It will provide additional health & wellbeing activities such as stop smoking clinics, general health checks and drop-in sessions
"It will be available for private hire events such as family events, birthdays, weddings etc."
St Mary's Leisure Centre (Image: Newsquest.)
Cllr Lorna Fielker, cabinet member for health, adults and leisure, added: "We’ve worked closely with residents and members of the community to help shape our proposal for the future use of St Mary’s Leisure Centre.
"This consultation is a vital part of co-creating this vision.
"We want to ensure the facilities and activities provide opportunities for people who live and work in Southampton to get active, access support for their health and wellbeing, and form connections with people in the community.
"It’s so important our residents can have their say - we look forward to hearing your views."
Cllr Satvir Kaur at the reopening of St Mary's Leisure Centre earlier this year (Image: Newsquest.)
The consultation, which runs until March 5, can be found by going online and visiting southampton.gov.uk/futurestmaryscentre/.
Paper copies of the survey are available at St Mary's and on request at all council-run libraries.
As reported in the Daily Echo, the centre reopened in August.
Speaking at the time Cllr Kaur said: "Everyone in the community worked extremely hard during the campaign and I’m thrilled that as a new Labour council we were able to deliver on our promise.
"We are in one of the most deprived communities, not only in Southampton but in the country."
One of the people at the reopening was Abdourahman Sanneh, 18, who joined his friends for a game of basketball.
He said: "I was really shocked when it closed. It is a massive part of St Mary's."
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