Activities centre closure claims denied by council

Calshot Activities Centre is located close to the Solent shoreline

A popular outdoor activities centre is not at risk of being closed, council leaders have insisted.

Hampshire County Council approved a £2m three-year plan aimed at securing the future of the county's six outdoor and study Centres, including Calshot Activities Centre on the Solent coast.

Opposition councillors warned the plan could lead to its eventual closure and have set up a petition to "save" the centre.

A council cabinet meeting heard it was "not looking to close" Calshot, but recommended a "managed retreat from assets" because of high costs due to its coastal location.

The council's Outdoor Centres Medium-Term Business Plan 2025–2028 set out a new commercial strategy to increase use of the sites, including identifying new partnerships and encouraging more people to stay at the sites for longer periods.

The plan includes £2m for maintenance work, of which £1.5m would go towards Calshot.

Sitting on Calshot Spit, overlooking the Solent, the centre includes several historic buildings, including three listed aircraft hangars from the early 20th Century.

The facilities, including an indoor ski slope, climbing wall and velodrome, are used by more than 75,000 people each year including school parties and youth groups.

The council report stated that while Calshot currently generated the highest income of the centres, it was also the most expensive to run.

"Future risks to the viability of the site rising from coastal change and extreme weather events are well established.

"They are a significant risk to any long-term return on investment in the centre that could be accrued.

"The proposed direction of travel is therefore a managed retreat from assets," it said.

Opposition group leader Keith House urged the council to "pause and rethink" the plans for Calshot.

"The report clearly states that unless you get a private sector partner to deliver the services at the hangars, there's a potential to close one of the best velodromes in the country, one of the few indoor ski slopes in the county, and the climbing wall too.

"Calshot has made a valuable contribution to health and education over decades for the benefit of Hampshire children and the wider community," he added.

He said the council should avoid "hard to unpick" decisions ahead to new unitary authorities taking over running services as part of the upcoming reorganisation of local government.

Cabinet member for universal services on the Conservative-run council, Kirsty North, said such claims "couldn't be further from the truth"

"The recommendations put the centres in the best possible place to navigate change and create new partnerships to deliver modern, high-quality activities and leisure opportunities."

Council leader Nick Adams-King accused the Lib Dems of "stoking false fears" over the future of the centre.

"Calshot is here to stay and we're investing in its future," he later posted on social media.

The recommendations were unanimously approved by the cabinet.