Residents continue to oppose Houghton Regis Leisure Centre Opening over lack of sports hall
A protest last week brought over 50 residents together to oppose the demolition of a previous sports hall
Last updated 7th Apr 2025
Houghton Regis residents who took a stand during the opening of the new Houghton Regis Leisure Centre continue to voice their frustration over the lack of a dedicated sports hall in the facility.
Last weekend, with chants of "Sports Hall for All!", more than fifty protestors made their presence known as new visitors entered the centre.
Despite the facility’s promise of "first-class leisure amenities," the absence of a sports hall has sparked backlash among the community.
Residents and sports groups who previously relied on the old leisure centre’s sports hall argue that they have been left without an adequate alternative.
Dru Spinks, Chairman of the Luton and Houghton Regis Basketball Club, voiced the frustrations shared by many at the protest.
“This isn’t about the Leisure Centre, this is about the residents of Houghton Regis. CBC (Central Bedfordshire Council) with their leisure strategy have not adequately provided for the community. That’s it, they’ve not provided. They’ve neglected the rights of the residents.”
“We want solutions. We want accountability from CBC. We want acknowledgement from CBC. We want them to be solution-driven and look at ways where the residents of this town have the same access to a sports hall as the residents of Dunstable, as Leighton Buzzard.”
Central Bedfordshire Council has defended its decision by pointing to the sports hall at the newly built Houstone School.
Under a Community Use Agreement, the school’s sports hall is meant to serve both students and the broader community. However, critics argue that the arrangement is inadequate.
Dru Spinks said: “We want acknowledgement from CBC, we we want them to be solution driven and look at ways where the residents of this town have the same access to the Sports hall as Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard.
"The previous sports hall had six badminton courts, approximately 99 operative hours a week that the community could access it; the new sports hall is four badminton courts, about forty hours a week. There’s a huge leisure deficit there. The council just simply will not acknowledge that.”
“CBC’s solution for this town going forward, by the way this town that’s going to a population of 54,000, is instead of the town having 52 weeks a year, it’s gonna be approximately 35 weeks of the year. The school will shut down for exam period, therefore there will be zero provision for the residents and clubs… What are CBC gonna do? They haven’t even acknowledged that. How is that protecting the rights of the residents?”
Among the protesters were Labour Central Bedfordshire and Houghton Regis Town councillors, as well as independent CBC councillors.
Labour councillor for Houghton East, Chloe Alderman, expressed her support for the residents’ cause.
She said: “Labour councillors originally raised the lack of sports hall provision to the previous executive back in 2022. They tried to bring it up in scrutiny.
“It’s clear what the problems are thanks to the hard work of people like Dru who won’t give up. It’s up to us as councillors to do something about it. The council needs to prove that it’s listening to the residents of Houghton Regis, following Sport England guidance, and providing the facilities that residents deserve.”
Bruce Hallam, co-chair of Houghton Regis Badminton, echoed this sentiment.
“All we want is for them to allow us to use the hall until such time as they build us a new sports hall on this site,” Mr Hallam said. “That’s all we’re asking but they ignore us.”
What does Central Bedfordshire Council say?
Cllr Steven Watkins, the council’s Executive Member for Assets, Business and Housing, said: “The new centre, which opened on Saturday, is a multi-million pound investment in Houghton Regis. Over 500 families attended its community fun day over the weekend with huge excitement, and the feedback on the new swimming pools and gym, state of the art group exercise spaces, café and play area was overwhelmingly positive, with many choosing to become members on the day.
“To maximise the local offer, and with future population growth in mind, we have made an agreement with Houstone School so activities can take place in their sports hall. The sports hall is available the majority of the time, including over the school holidays, with the exception of time set aside for the school’s exams.
“We have worked hard to ensure that no local groups are left without a home, including the basketball group, and prioritised those with previous bookings. Other groups are already booked into the new sports hall and we still have slots available for the basketball group, subject to receiving the paperwork we need to confirm their booking. This includes important information such as a compliant safeguarding policy – something we require from any group working with young people. We are no longer able to provide the significant subsidy they previously enjoyed, but hope that they can continue to work with us at what is still a very competitive rate – one that is set by the school.
“It's worth noting that the old leisure centre sports hall was not fully used, with some customers using the sports hall only because other more suitable spaces weren’t available. The new leisure centre provides a much better range of facilities, and all those customers who used the old sports hall but can be better accommodated in the new smaller spaces have already moved to the new centre.
“All in all, the new facilities are bigger, and better, marking a huge improvement for leisure facilities in Houghton Regis.”