The City Council’s Executive Board met on March 18th to make a final decision on the future of Victoria Leisure Centre, following a decision in principle last month to close the facility which was subject to a public feedback exercise.

The Executive Board confirmed their earlier decision to close the centre. However, having considered the public feedback the Executive Board has today committed to providing a replacement facility either on the existing site, at the new Eastside Academy or elsewhere locally on the east side of the city. The existing centre will remain open while proposals for a new facility and the existing Victoria Leisure Centre site are completed over the next nine months, tied in with wider regeneration issues being considered for the area.

Portfolio Holder for Communities, Leisure and Culture, Councillor David Trimble, said: "We have listened to the views of the public expressed during the four-week public feedback exercise. There is clearly a strong view that this side of the city, with its deprivation and associated issues, should not lose a leisure facility.

"We maintain that Victoria Leisure Centre does not meet the standards that our customers expect and deserve, and that it would be prohibitively expensive to try and bring the existing buildings up to scratch. We are therefore confirming the decision of the closure of the existing centre, but are committing to providing a replacement facility either on the existing site or elsewhere locally on the east side of the city. This is a huge commitment."

The closure is part of an overall investment programme in leisure facilities across the city. Centres that have seen investment and improvement as part of this programme, such as Portland, John Carroll, Ken Martin and Southglade leisure centres, have benefited from an increase in customer numbers. It is hoped that a new replacement facility will result in a similar rise in attendances.

Options for the replacement swimming pool and leisure provision for Victoria Leisure Centre will be developed alongside the new Framework Development Plan for the east side of the City and this site will be identified as a catalytic project for the regeneration of the Sneinton Market area.