Sports centre saved from closure after buyer found

Folkestone Sports Centre will reopen as a leisure centre after a new buyer was found for the site

A Kent sports centre has been saved from permanent closure after a buyer was found for the site.

Folkestone Sports Centre has been closed since July 2024 after the charity which ran it said it could "no longer afford to remain operational".

But administrators have now confirmed that a buyer has been secured for the site who plans to reopen it as a leisure centre.

The Radnor Park Avenue site will reopen after a petition to save the leisure centre which reached nearly 9,000 signatures.

A spokesperson for administrators Opus LLP confirmed that a buyer had been found who intended to reopen the site as a leisure centre.

The administrators refused to confirm the name of the new owners as the legal process was ongoing.

The centre, with facilities including a swimming pool, dance studios, a cafe and a bar, was previously by Folkestone Sports Centre Trust.

The site closed in July, citing a "dramatic increase" in the trust's costs.

'Lifted spirits'

Ian Howe, chairman of Folkestone Swimming Club, said the news would allow it to return to its home pool after being forced to find alternative facilities.

He said: "We found places to train but they are not ideal. This has lifted spirits within the club.

"If we could be back in by June or July that would be perfect but we don't know how long that will take."

A reopening date for the site has not been confirmed.

Campaigners have celebrated the saving of the club, with Folkestone and Hythe MP Tom Vaughan saying that people "have been really struggling without it", calling the reopening news "absolutely brilliant".

Paralympian Callie-Ann Warrington, who had also backed plans to save the site, added it was "very important" to protect the swimming facilities to help nurture the next generation of swimmers in Kent.