Work begins on £8.4m sports hall at Oakfield

The government said the hall would be a "key base" for the sporting community

Work has begun on a £8.4m sports hall being built next to an existing sports hall and 3G football pitch in Jersey.

The Government of Jersey said the facilities at Oakfield in St Helier would be a "key base" for the sporting community and would deliver the curriculum for Hautlieu School and Highlands College.

Constable Andy Jehan, Minister for Infrastructure, said: "It'll be a great facility not only for the community but also for education."

The new building work is expected to be complete by in a year's time, he added.

Enhancing facilities

The government said it expected the project to be finished by Christmas 2025 and the existing hall would then become a dedicated gymnastics facility.

The new sports centre at Oakfield will be used for some of the sporting activities previously held at Fort Regent.

It will house sports including basketball, netball, cricket and martial arts.

Barclay Harvey, head of sports operations for Jersey's Government, said: "This is about being able to enhance our facilities and it is about giving another opportunity back to Fort Regent so it can be repurposed for other things.

"We're taking sport out of the fort and we're bringing it here to a new building at Oakenfield, which is great."

'A first for the island'

Julia Falle, from Regent Gymnastics Club which is based at Fort Regent, said: "There's lots of renovation work that needs to be done at fort so to come into a permanent facility for gymnastics is a first for the island, and it definitely needs it."

She said the gymnastics equipment would be permanently in place and no longer moved for exhibitions.

Another benefit of the new facility is that it could attract international teams as a centre to train in, she added.