Pyramids Portsmouth: 'Dramatic' makeover hailed as a success by city council bosses

Last year £74,000 was required to subsidise the Pyramids Centre – down from £700,000 before the pandemic – although the council said this likely would have been ‘a small surplus’ had it not been for the summer heatwave.

Councillor Steve Pitt, the cabinet member for leisure, said this showed it was ‘crystal clear’ that the overhaul of the building had been the right choice while longer-term plans for the site are drawn up.

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Structural surveys have revealed the condition of the building’s roof and air handling equipment will mean it needs to be replaced within the next decade.

The leisure centre has been run by BH Live since 2013 and in 2020 BH Live said neither it, nor the council, could afford the ‘substantial subsidy’ needed to keep it running.

In 2020 it proposed the conversion of the centre into a soft play and bounce attraction with a large gym, removing the loss-making swimming pool. The council considered this the ‘most financially advantageous option’ for its future.

The multi-million pound project was completed with the opening of Exploria in August 2021 and the gym in January 2022.

Data for the first full year of operation shows that energy consumption has reduced by two-thirds as a result of the changes, halving bills.

Gym membership has still yet to reach pre-pandemic levels with there now being 2,164 members compared to 2,400. However, Exploria numbers are 27 per cent higher, spurred largely by hosting an average of 85 children’s parties a month.

‘The evidence of the first 12 months trading in its new configuration suggests that the decision in 2020 to re-purpose the Pyramids was the right one,’ the report says. ‘This re-purposing has likely secured its ongoing operation for the medium term…up to 2030 or so.’

Cllr Pitt, who will consider the report at his decision-making meeting on Friday, March 17, said the figures showed support for its plans, while the reconfiguration had also reduced pressures on the council’s budget.

‘Something dramatic had to be done’ he said. ‘While the easy option would have been to close the building, we made sure that hasn’t had to happen and it’s been transformed into something that’s proving hugely popular.

‘When you look at what’s happening elsewhere in the country with leisure centres closing you can see we made the right decision.’

Options for the long-term future of the building are now beginning to be considered by the council.

Cllr Pitt added that he was ‘absolutely committed’ to supporting swimming infrastructure in the city, welcoming the opening of the Ravelin Sports Centre this week and adding that a planning application for the new pool at Bransbury Park would be submitted ‘in the next few months’.

It comes as the city council put a survey out to residents asking for their thoughts on the proposed new leisure centre in Eastney.