Following a public consultation on the multi-million-pound draft masterplan, Southampton City Council’s Cabinet approved a scheme to improve the city’s Outdoor Sports Centre.
The key features of the Draft Masterplan for Improvements for the facilities include building a new hub offering changing facilities, a gym and a café, as well as new covered tennis and netball courts, an integrated cycling offering, new artificial football pitches, improvements to the hockey pitches and a new ski lodge at the snow sports centre.
The plans also include a new family zone providing an outdoor gym, skatepark, and children’s play area, a new grandstand and clubhouse for events at the athletics track, and more parking.
Over 2,500 responded to the 12-week consultation, with 92% of people agreeing with the proposals.
From as early as spring, work to improve the Bike Park and Woodland trail as part of the wider cycling plans across the site in partnership with British Cycling will commence while a detailed design is developed before a planning application for the main site works is submitted.
Subject to planning consent and securing funding, major works to the rest of the Outdoor Sports Centre could start as early as autumn.
Cllr John Hannides, Cabinet Member for Finance and Capital Assets, said: ‘We received a fantastic response from people all over Southampton supporting the proposals to improve the Outdoor Sports Centre and I am delighted we have been able to formally approve these proposals to progress this project even further.
‘This is the most significant investment in the Outdoor Sports Centre for over 80 years since its opening in 1938. Not only do these improvement plans ensure the future of this much-loved, iconic sporting venue, but they also support our bid to become UK City of Culture 2025 by improving health and wellbeing whilst maintaining and enhancing our heritage, boosting the local economy and creating new jobs for local people.’
Photo by Lesly Juarez