A leisure centre in Southampton will be developed into a community hub to improve residents’ skills, health and wellbeing.

The leader of the city council said the long-term vision for St Mary’s Leisure Centre was at the heart of the authority’s ‘community prevention’ transformation programme.

Around £2million of capital investment has been set aside for the site in St Mary’s Road, which will be renamed St Mary’s Community Centre in the future.

Cllr Lorna Fielker, Labour leader of Southampton City CouncilCllr Lorna Fielker gave details on the project after questions from Conservative opposition members about why this money could not have been used to increase the value of office building One Guildhall Square before it was sold.

The Labour leader of the council said: “Our plan is to develop it (St Mary’s Leisure Centre) as a hub which is part of our community prevention transformation programme.

“It is a focus on solutions within communities so people can build their capabilities, skills and improve their overall health and wellbeing.

“This work is really important for us to do to reduce future demand on us as a council because what we know for a fact is that there is a rising need out there because people are not fit and healthy, and that rising need is very expensive to us as a local authority in terms of providing social care and to our local NHS services.”

In December 2021, St Mary’s Leisure Centre closed after the then-Conservative council administration said it did not have a “viable future”.

Following a campaign by centre users, Labour reopened the facility within three months of taking back control of the local authority in the May 2022 elections.

Discussing the centre’s importance in the future at the council meeting on July 16, Cllr Fielker said: “We need to provide prevention services and what we do know is in that particular area of the city, people will go to St Mary’s Community Centre in order to access those.

“At the moment it continues to operate as a leisure centre and we are providing a level of subsidy for that but we are working through our plans to change that.

“Part of that will be why we have put that money aside so we can upgrade that building but there is a lot of stuff this council needs to do which isn’t just about selling a building.

“It is actually very much about making sure we are improving the lives of all residents across Southampton and that’s what this programme aims to do.”

Transformation and leisure centres

Cllr Peter Baillie, Harefield ward member and Conservative group leader. Picture: Southampton City CouncilThe ‘community prevention’ project is one of 28 initiatives in the council’s major transformation programme, which was unveiled earlier this month.

The overall programme is aiming to save the council £32million in 2025/26.

This includes ceasing council-funded leisure provision at Southampton Water Activities Centre and Woodmill Outdoor Activity Centre.

The council’s current preference is to find a provider who can continue to operate the leisure offer at both sites. If a provider cannot be identified by September, other disposal options could be explored.

Conservative group leader Cllr Peter Baillie said the subsidy provided by the council was higher at St Mary’s Leisure Centre than at Woodmill.

Cllr Fielker said St Mary’s had been prioritised because of the long-term plans for the centre, adding that data which showed its users were Southampton residents.

She said 46 per cent of Woodmill users were from the city and at the water activities centre only 32 per cent were.

“We very much hope that some operators come forward and look to take either of those facilities on because we see there is opportunity there and we are having conversations,” Cllr Fielker said.

“We genuinely would like to continue to see that sort of provision within the city but we know as a council that is not something we are able to do ourselves at this time and we are making pragmatic and responsible decisions based on what we feel is right for the residents of Southampton and the local taxpayers.

Cllr Baillie said this was an “incredibly isolationist view”.

He said: “Just because someone comes from outside the city. What about all the stuff we use that’s outside [the city]? What about going to Chilworth Golf Course?”

The Conservative member said he was disappointed Labour were prepared to throw what they previously said was the “jewel in the crown” in Woodmill “on the heap”.

Cllr Fielker replied: “Certainly not prepared to throw on the heap, Cllr Baillie. What I would say is I don’t think any local authority is subsidising people to go and play golf at Chilworth and that’s what the issue is.

“I don’t believe there are commercial golf courses that local authorities are paying for people to subsidise when they go.

“It is a shame that we’re not able to continue to subsidise at the level we have been but we have to recognise the position that we’re in as a local authority and we have to make pragmatic decisions and that’s what we have done here.”