ALTON and District Sports Council has expressed frustration over the circle of silence that appears to surround plans for the town’s new sports centre.

The fear is that plans are being developed behind closed doors and without input from the people who actually understand what is needed by people who use the centre.

Now East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) has tried to allay fears by explaining that it is currently seeking to procure a partner who will then work with the council on what will be deliverable in terms of leisure facilities across the district. And these negotiations are, according to EHDC, subject to commercially confidentiality.

It is not what Alton and District Sports Council was expecting to hear.

In fact, it was expecting to view the first outline plans for Alton’s new £25m sports centre in March following a public consultation undertaken in the foyer of the current centre in February.

The principle, however, has been established. EHDC intends to replace the current centre, on Chawton Park Road, with a modern facility.

The new sports centre is to be built alongside the current facility which will remain in place until its replacement is completed.

Dating back to the 1970s, the current centre is considered to be well past its sell-by date and its replacement is said to be a council priority.

The new centre is expected to include a swimming pool with at least six lanes, but therein lies the rub: six lanes are felt by many to be totally inadequate, with people arguing that for the size of the catchment area and if the facility is to be commercially viable the pool should be Olympic-sized with at least eight lanes and with seating to encourage training and competitions.

While a full business case, including the recommended mix facilities, was expected to be taken to EHDC cabinet in May, there has been no further public presentation and Alton and District Sports Council is becoming anxious as to the future of the project.

Concern was further roused during an EHDC forum meeting in Alton at the end of January, during which district council leader Ferris Cowper referred to Alton’s proposed new sports centre as including a swimming pool with at least six lanes, and that one way of paying for the facility could be to give part of it over to a private gym. It was unclear at the time if this would reduce the area for public use.

At the time, Mr Cowper was explaining the need for EHDC to look at new ways of providing services against a background of reduced government funding, pointing out that while many councils will compensate for lack of income by cost cutting, “our game plan is to improve services” while maintaining a normal programme of community support.

He added: “The conundrum is solved by finding new sources of income, that’s the fundamental solution to the challenge.”

But at Alton and District Sports Council’s annual meeting earlier this month, chairman Brian Scowcroft said that while understanding that finances are tight, it was lack of information that was causing frustration among sports council members. The sports council, he said, had continued to lobby EHDC with requests for information regarding the plans and possible facility mix, but extracting specific information was proving hard to come by.

As a result, he has been tasked to write to all district councillors expressing the sports council’s concerns and requesting assistance where possible in helping to act as a voice for the community and clubs.

A public meeting has been planned for July 26 at Alton Community Centre to discuss the matter further.

In a statement in response to these concerns, a spokesman for EHDC explained that it was currently too early to say what Alton’s new sports centre would and wouldn’t include in terms of facilities as this would depend on what was deliverable with the partner EHDC is currently in the process of choosing.

The statement continueds: “We are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to appoint a partner who will work with us from April 2017, when our current management contract with People for Places Leisure expires.

“The partner will manage the council’s leisure facilities and help us deliver new centres in Alton and Whitehill and Bordon, and also refurbish the Taro Leisure Centre in Petersfield.

“This procurement exercise is commercially restricted, which means we cannot engage in public consultation during the process. However, the council is aiming to have completed the process and made a decision on a new partner by December. The council will then be in a position to undertake public engagement on plans for the new facilities.”