Southampton's St Mary's Leisure Centre set to reopen

St Mary's Leisure Centre, which was previously managed by Solent University, has been closed since last Christmas

Plans to repair and reopen a leisure centre have been confirmed.

St Mary's Leisure Centre in Southampton was closed in December 2021 as the Conservative administration on the city council said the site did not have a "viable future".

Plans to sell the Grade II listed building were unveiled in February.

But campaigners have now declared "victory" as they have said the newly elected Labour administration has pledged to repair and reopen the site.

The Conservatives lost control of the council to Labour in last week's elections.

In a social media post, Labour leader Satvir Kaur said Labour would formally take control of the council on 18 May "after which we will start our plans to make repairs and reopen".

Further details and an exact opening date are yet to be revealed.

But Labour councillor Toqeer Kataria has said the new administration has listened to campaigners and "will invest in this much needed community facility".

'Victory'

Nick Chaffey, from Save St Mary's Leisure Centre campaign group, has said campaigners want the centre to reopen "immediately".

"There's no reason why the building can't reopen tomorrow," he said.

"The building was not closed because it was unsafe, it was closed because the council decided that they did not want to run it."

However, he said the news of its reopening was "a victory" for campaigners.

A report published last year revealed that 86% of the 1,758 residents who had their say on the plans to close the centre thought the closure would have a negative impact on local people.

The Conservative administration said the building had significant structural and maintenance issues.

Tory councillors previously said repair works would cost £1.5m in addition to the £148,000 needed to operate the centre each year.

But they pledged to use the revenue from the sale of the building to support existing community groups.

Mr Chaffey has said campaigners want the authority to run the leisure centre and have asked to meet the new administration.

St Mary's Leisure Centre was previously managed by Solent University but the university's contract ran out on 31 December 2021.