A decline in the usage of a Wokingham town leisure centre means the council is considering alternative uses for the site.
“Since the return to activities after the main thrust of covid it’s really reached the point where it’s necessary to consider whether there are other options for the future of that leisure centre,” said Cllr Ian Shenton, the executive member for environment, sports and leisure.
He said the opening of Carnival Hub had also affected usage levels.
Documents included in the executive decision-making pack shows that the number of fitness members was 1,260 in February 2020, but 967 in February this year. There were 850 exercise classes held in 2020, compared to 785 this year. And the number of junior exercises has declined slightly, from 46 to 43.
Options include maintaining the leisure centre as it is, as the buildings are expected to be good for another 20 years; transferring the site to St Crispin’s School or for other services such as a SEND resource unit or a community hub.
Another proposal is to turn the site into keyworker housing. A final suggestion is to demolish the buildings and mothball the site until land values increase or another service need is identified.
The council notes that squash is available at Bracknell Leisure Centre, as well as the University of Reading, Wellington Healthy and Fitness Club, and Berkshire County Sports Club.
The council is now opening an eight-week consultation, and will include St Crispin’s School and Westende Junior School in this, as well as drop-in sessions for the public and one-to-one meetings with user groups.
“Because of the timescale, we would love consultation to be effective immediately so we can catch people in term time as well as the school holiday,” he continued.
The vote, at a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council’s executive, held on Thursday, June 29, was unanimous and the consultation will run until the end of August.
