High hopes new Portsmouth Bransbury Park leisure centre could open in 2026

Speaking at Tuesday’s (July 18) meeting of the council, its leader and cabinet member for leisure, councillor Steve Pitt, said work was moving ‘at pace’ with the planning application due to be submitted in October. A final decision on the inclusion of a purpose-built base for the Devonshire Practice in the development is expected ‘very soon,’ allowing final designs to be put together.

Plans for the new leisure centre have been put together over the last three years as a replacement for both Eastney Swimming Pool and Wimbledon Sports Centre. Six rounds of consultation have already been held, with the most recent giving more than 80 per cent approval for the latest plan. Support was also given for free-to-use sport courts and the retention of the existing gardens. The consultation results also showed general support for an extension to the existing car park and for parking restrictions on Bransbury Road.

• Council unveils first plans for new leisure centre

• Bransbury Park designs widely supported

Responding to a request from Labour councillor Mary Vallely for an update on the scheme, Cllr Pitt said rental income from the GP practice would cover higher-than-expected borrowing costs resulting from ‘exceptionally high inflation that is plaguing every public contract in the country’.

The council is expecting a decision to be made on the planning application, should it be submitted in October, in January next year. This would be followed by initial preparation work on site beginning the following month before construction starts in August 2024. This is due to be completed in January 2026.

Cllr Pitt said involving the Devonshire Practice in the project was beneficial in attracting grants from bodies such as Sport England but would also help modernise GP provision.

‘Existing GP practices are often in old, failing buildings, or even multiple buildings, that were cobbled together years ago and made to work but don’t work,’ he said. ‘[The inclusion of the GP practice has] become a really key and intrinsic part of where we are.’