Southampton's St Mary's Leisure centre to reopen by August

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

A leisure centre that closed months ago and was set to be sold could reopen.

Southampton City Council is planning to reopen St Mary's Leisure Centre as soon as possible and no later than 31 August this year, it has been confirmed.

According to the plans, Active Nation UK Ltd could be running the venue for 18 months while long-term proposals are drawn up.

The centre was closed in December 2021 and plans to sell it were approved in February.

The proposals were put forward by the previous Conservative administration as it said the centre did not have a "viable future" and repair works would cost £1.5m in addition to the £148,000 needed to operate it each year.

But plans to reopen the centre are expected to be approved by the new Labour administration on 19 July.

'Nowhere to go'

Campaigners want the site to reopen sooner than the end of August.

"The six weeks holiday is almost here and we're worried people will have nowhere to go," a campaigner told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

According to a report published by the council, long-term proposals for the site will be developed in the next months and will be followed by a 12-week public consultation.

A total of 86% of the 1,758 residents who previously had their say on the plans to close the centre thought the closure would have a negative impact on local people.

The closure was expected to save the council £148,000 a year, but according to the latest council report the reopening of the centre will cost the authority £148,000 in the 2022-23 financial year and £100,000 in the 2023-24 financial year while an extra £50,000 is expected to be spent on marketing.