ALTON Town Council performed a neat evasive manoeuvre last Thursday in a bid to secure a new sports centre for the town, but without endorsing East Hampshire District Council’s (EHDC) specification for the facilities mix.

Concerned members of the community turned out in force for an extraordinary full council meeting, held at Alton College, to debate the outcome of the town council’s public consultation into the sort of facility Alton needs.

They were there to represent local clubs, schools and organisations in a robust debate to fight for the future of sports provision in the town.

The results of the consultation revealed a desire for a family friendly ‘sports centre’ which is modern, fit for purpose and large enough to accommodate the needs of a growing population, in the town and its surrounding villages, for the next 50 years.

At the meeting, while the key emphasis was on future proofing, there were concerns expressed in particular over the size of the proposed pool facility, the reduction in squash courts, and the inclusion of a private spa and the tripling in size of the gym, both of which, it was argued, would take away internal space from other facilities.

Worried that the emphasis appears to be on making money rather than providing the facilities the town wants, it should, said Alton Squash Academy chairman Laurie Cuffley, be “a sports centre the community wants rather than one EHDC wants to give us”.

While praise was heaped on Alton Town Council for its “openness and fairness” in conducting a public consultation when EHDC had failed to do so, concern was still expressed over the proposed size of the new centre which the majority of the 70-strong audience felt to be inadequate for a population that, according to Alton Society representative Rod Eckles, is likely to grow by an estimated 25 per cent over the next 30 years (from 17,000 to more than 23,000 in Alton alone).

The question was how, if the existing centre, which was built in the 1970s for a town population of around 13,000 and cannot meet existing needs, will the proposed new centre, with very little difference in footprint, cope with the imminent and long-term increase in population?

There were people of all ages at the meeting, with a senior representation from Alton Health and Fun Club wanting to retain accessible pool-side spa facilities to members of Alton Rugby Club, the Scouts and Girl Guides keen to see future proofing for young people, with an emphasis on swimming, squash and climbing, which they fear will not meet aspirations for the future.

Alton and District Sports Council chairman Joe Walters stressed “the strength of feeling” expressed by people engaging with the Alton Town Council survey, and the need to support the findings of the consultation, which had attracted an almost unprecedented return with 2,479 individuals, 11 schools and 25 sports clubs taking part. And this, he said, should be added to the thousands of hits on the ‘Save our Sports Centre’ website.

Designed to inform the town council’s decision on whether or not to support EHDC’s proposed mix of facilities for the new sports centre – a decision that EHDC was hoping for in April when, due to “significant” public concern over “a done deal”, signed at the end of March by EHDC and Everyone Active, who will help build and run the centre, there was no doubt in councillors’ minds over the need “to get it right”.

They were aided in their decision by a last-minute offer from EHDC for the town council to join a project development board for the new sports centre which they hoped would also include representatives from the sports clubs and other key stakeholders, and enable them to work with EHDC to influence the mix of facilities to be provided within the remit of the contract.

In the interests of future transparency, this formed part of a revised recommendation, put forward by Alton Town Council leader Matthew Bayliss, that “Alton Town Council supports the implementation of a new sports centre for Alton and the wider district which can be demonstrated to meet the needs of our growing population”.

Having been voted on unanimously to take the place of the original recommendation, to support EHDC’s proposed mix of facilities, the new recommendation was agreed by nine out of the 12 councillors present, with Lib Dems Pam Jones and Alan Chick voting against and Sharon Cullen abstaining.

While allowing EHDC to save face and for the process of building a new sports centre to continue, the decision has caused consternation among some of the sports clubs which, according to Mr Walters, are now pinning their hopes on the project development board to provide an opportunity for “meaningful debate” in the continuing fight to “get the sports centre the town deserves”.

Commenting after the meeting, district council leader Richard Millard said he was “delighted” that Alton Town Council had agreed to support EHDC’s “vision for a fresh, modern sports centre in Alton”.

And he added: “The new centre must meet the needs of a growing population in the town and across the surrounding area while remaining financially viable.?We look forward to working with Alton Town Council and local sports clubs on the project development board to ensure we achieve this.”