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The Active gym at Fort Regent will close for good on Sunday 14 May – in time for the "expanded and modernised" gym at Springfield Stadium to open for Active members on Monday.
The closure of the gym at Fort Regent is "part of the longer-term plans to decant the Fort in preparation for future redevelopment", the Government says.
The refurbished Springfield facility includes a 75-station gym with free weights, cardio and fixed weights areas, a Mind & Body Studio, a state-of-the-art Spin studio, and large studio suitable for classes such as circuits and Boxfit.
The Assistant Minister with responsibility for Sport, Deputy Lucy Stephenson, said: "The redevelopment and modernisation of the gym at Springfield is part of a significant programme of investment being made by the Government into Jersey's sporting facilities.
"I visited Springfield this week, along with the Active staff, and was impressed by the fresh, spacious and modern facilities which I hope will be enjoyed by the Active community for many years to come."
Today I spent some time with @activejersey staff from across the sport facilities portfolio and we also got a tour of the new gym at Springfield, which is looking fantastic and is due to open on Monday. It’s bigger than many expected, was a general consensus pic.twitter.com/IYnSzfkMhq
— Lucy Stephenson (@LucyStevoJSY) May 11, 2023
Government plans to reduce the number of clubs in Fort Regent to just five by next year have been the topic of controversy – with some islanders setting up a new campaign group to stop the removal of sport from the leisure centre.
The 'Friends of Fort Regent' group - set up in March by Roy Travert - "strongly urged" States Members to "consider the immense value that these facilities bring to the local community and keep the sports facilities open".
CLICK TO READ: The full letter to States Members.
The group cited the importance of physical activity, community benefits, economic benefits, and investment in infrastructure as the main reasons why sports should not be removed from Fort Regent.
At the end of last year, Express reported that work to turn Fort Regent into a "cultural and leisure destination" had been put on hold to accelerate the move of sport out of the venue.
Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet went a step further earlier this year and confirmed that plans for the future of Fort Regent that were developed under the previous Government were “unfeasible in the current economic climate”.
Video: Former Chief Minister John Le Fondré introducing the now-scrapped 'Future Fort' vision.
However, he added: “The Future Places Ministerial Group are reassessing what is feasible and are committed to developing an affordable and deliverable proposal for the future of Fort Regent, and to securing an appropriate mandate from the States Assembly.”
And giving an update on the move of sport out of the centre, he said: “The number of Government services, sports clubs and commercial enterprises operating at Fort Regent has reduced from 39 in 2019 to 21 in 2023, this is expected to reduce to five in 2024."
The Friends of Fort Regent also set up an online petition to "enable clubs and members of the public to register their objections to the removal of facilities". It has reached over 2,500 signatures to date.
Ministers are required to respond to petitions which reach over 1,000 signatures. They said: "Sports are being relocated to more modern, more accessible, fit-for-purpose facilities in the community to modernise provision and enable Fort Regent to be redeveloped."
Petitions have to reach 5,000 signatures in order to be debated in the States Assembly.
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