Call for certainty around future of Maidstone Leisure Centre

It comes as the council agreed earlier this year to invest £2m into the short term future of the site.

Transcript

00:00 Often described as Maidstone's most polluting building due to poor energy efficiency, the

00:05 cost to run Maidstone Leisure Centre has skyrocketed by £1 million in the last year.

00:11 Previously proposals have been made to build a new centre or to carry out a major refurbishment.

00:16 Instead the Borough Council has voted to invest £2 million to keep the site maintained.

00:22 Opposition councillor Paul Harper says a decision needs to be made on the leisure centre's

00:27 long-term future or the 1970s built site may be forced to close.

00:32 Like any building from the 70s it needs to be either replaced or refurbished and it's

00:37 coming to the time where big decisions need to be made.

00:41 Now I know the council says it doesn't intend closing it but if you don't actually decide

00:46 either to spend money to refurbish it and update it or build a new building and replace

00:52 this one then there has to be a danger at some point in the future, you know, five,

00:57 ten, fifteen years, that building can't remain open, it's just beyond its life.

01:02 So decisions do need to be made and to give assurity to the community that we want a leisure

01:08 centre in Maidstone for the next 20, 30 years.

01:11 Tamsin runs Dharma Gym for All which uses Maidstone Leisure Centre to run its weekly

01:16 trampolining sessions.

01:17 She says the leisure centre is vital for her club to keep running.

01:22 Well it's one of our main venues, we have two venues but this is one of our main venues

01:26 and it's one of the few venues that we've got that have got the correct height because

01:30 we need so much height, we need minimum 10 metres and it's one of the few buildings

01:34 that can facilitate us so it's kind of crucial really, without that we can't run.

01:41 Maidstone Leisure Centre is run by contractors on the borough's behalf.

01:45 That contract is set to expire in 2024 but is currently in negotiations to be expanded

01:50 to 2031.

01:52 Councillor Claudine Russell says the intermediate plan is a better use of council finances than

01:57 a complete refurbishment or replacement.

02:00 I mean if your house is fundamentally structurally sound but you don't like the interior, at

02:06 the moment it's not the most up to date, you don't just call in the diggers do you?

02:08 So I think we have to be very prudent with our budget, that we have to look at the budget

02:15 in the round.

02:16 I'm hoping that people will be able to see that the money will be spent wisely to improve

02:20 the facility that they currently use and hopefully love, that's why they keep coming back.

02:25 So just know that there are plans going on in the background for revitalising that facility,

02:31 we're not going to lose it.

02:33 Strategic health and wellbeing is one of our major priorities for the borough.

02:37 In a statement the borough council has told us there are no plans to close Maidstone

02:41 Leisure Centre. As with any council facility, its condition is regularly monitored to ensure

02:46 it is safe and fit for purpose.

02:48 A recent structural survey confirms the building is structurally sound and is not only being

02:53 kept in good condition, the council also agreed to invest £2 million in improvements to the

02:58 leisure centre earlier this year.

03:00 Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Maidstone.

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