Sports centre revamp savings could improve others

Medway Council is to consider using remaining funds to upgrade two other sites

Savings of £1.5m from the redevelopment of a sports centre in Kent may be used to improve two others.

In 2022, Medway Council agreed to spend £23.65m on demolishing Splashes in Rainham and building Cozenton Park Sports Centre, which opened in July.

The cost of the new facility ended up £1.5m less than expected, so the authority’s cabinet is to consider using the remaining funds to upgrade Medway Park Sports Centre in Gillingham and Strood Sports Centre.

The plans will be considered at a cabinet meeting next week.

Funding would be split equally and used to update the swimming pool, changing rooms, football pitches or fitness studios, a report presented to cabinet members said, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Both sites need modernising and have not had renovations in the last 20 years. The sports hall floor in Strood Sports Centre is 25 years old and could become unsafe if not replaced, the council added.

The report also details how it is the authority’s ambition to stop subsidising all sports centres in the area by 2027.

Council officers have recommended the remaining funds to be reinvested, but other options are open to councillors including using it to reduce the council’s capital spend.

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