Warning from Dorset Councillors to 'use or lose' Redlands Sports Centre

There's been a warning from Dorset Councillors that we need to 'use or lose' Weymouth's Redlands Sports Centre.

Active Dorset is taking over the running of the centre, once Weymouth College pulls out.

But Dorset Council has suggested that if visitor numbers aren't high enough, the organisation might have to reconsider their involvement.

In the authority's Place Overview Committee, Cllr Carole Jones said:

“It really is very important that people get behind it."

She's welcomed the business model from Active Dorset to run Redlands, but warned that the finances would be finely balanced and unless use remains high enough there would be a risk to the centre’s future.

The new arrangements are expected to be approved at a Council Cabinet meeting in September.

Thursday’s committee was told that there would be much more involvement in running the centre from user groups and the wider community – with volunteers carrying out a range of tasks, including setting up equipment for sessions and even opening and locking up the building.

The proposals include several improvements to the outdoor facilities, including new synthetic pitches, and the introduction of a ‘trim trail.’

Councillor's fondness for Redlands

Weymouth councillor Graham Heatley told the meeting he backed the proposals to keep the centre open.

He said he had attended exercise classes there and now took part in walking football - after having a double bypass operation, following a heart attack 20 years ago:

“It literally changed my life and gave me more confidence about what I could do."

He told the meeting that he believed activities at centres such as Redlands would have a positive effect on both physical and mental health and, in the long-run, reduce the need for interventions by the NHS and social care later in life.

Weymouth College wants to pull out of the lease due to the expensive maintenance costs and having to subsidise some activities at a time when the college itself was being pressed financially.

Dorset Council would be responsible for insuring and maintaining the buildings, boundary fencing, car parks, access roads and any other built infrastructure.

Weymouth Town Council has also committed to providing £35.000 annually for the next two years in support of keeping the indoor facilities open.

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• dorset council
• redlands sports centre
• weymouth