Fort Regent: Open letter calls for sports closure review

No major internal or external works are currently under way at Fort Regent

A campaign group has written to all Jersey States' members to protest about sports being moved out of Fort Regent.

The government made a decision last year to have sports clubs move out of the leisure centre by September 2023.

In February, the government also put plans to regenerate it on hold for financial reasons.

In an open letter, the Friends of Fort Regent have asked politicians to request they "scrutinize the decision to remove sports facilities".

The letter comes after nearly 2,500 people signed a petition asking for sports facilities to be reinstated at the fort after ministers said the site needed too much work to remain a leisure centre at the present time.

Plans had been put forward to redevelop the site into a casino and leisure centre. However, those plans have also been dropped.

In response to the petition, the minister responsible, Deputy Lucy Stephenson, said the fort was "beyond the end of its useful life from a sport perspective" and that the "decant of sport from the Fort has been under way for a number of years".

Ms Stephenson also said remaining sports tenants at the Fort "have a home there until their replacement facilities are ready".

She said: "These moves have been delayed yet further as work on Oakfield has not even started yet.

"I will also point out that the Special Needs Gym Club has only recently moved into the Fort. There is no 'imminent removal'."

In their letter, the friends said there had not been enough consultation.

They said the loss of the fort meant it was "incomprehensible to think that most users will be forced into unsuitable venues across the island with a lack of parking, such as Springfield, when Fort Regent has no such issues".

The friends said: "While the plan aims to provide sports facilities elsewhere, it is unclear whether the decision has been made with due consideration of the impact on the existing tenants and the wider community, something we strongly object to."

Ministers said they remained committed to agreeing a way forward for the fort, to make future use of the building in a way that was "realistic, affordable and sustainable".

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