With a review recommending that Guernsey’s leisure centre, Beau Sejour, is refurbished or rebuilt entirely, different proposals have been shared for each option.
No decisions have yet been made but the difference between the two options appears to come down to ‘protecting’ some of the current facilities or ‘enhancing’ them.
Co-produced by Education, Sport & Culture (ESC) and ‘subject matter experts’ FMG Sport & Leisure Consultancy, the review says there are two options for maintaining a future for Beau Sejour – major refurbishment or rebuild.
Either way, the review says the States will have to invest “significant” sums of money in Beau Sejour to keep it open and viable.
It has outlined Beau Sejour’s “importance as a community asset”, while also highlighting several challenges of running the “tired and dated” leisure centre.
These challenges include the age and condition of the facility, under-performing and under-utilised areas, and the need to respond to future demands.
Refurbishment
If Beau Sejour was to be refurbished we might see the current swimming pools, sports halls, gym, squash courts, and theatre ‘protected’, while the bowls green might be repurposed and the underused tennis courts removed.
Housing could replace them, along with some artificial pitches and padel courts to meet modern tastes.
The refurbishment ideas would all come with a hefty price tag though, as even protecting the future of the sports halls would include replacing the flooring and increasing flexibility by introducing new soundproofing and curtains, while it’s been recognised that the gym needs more space.
The David Ferguson Hall would also be earmarked for changes under any refurbishment plan with suggestions that it could be converted into a more flexible space with breakout areas for teaching.
The outside tennis courts would face the biggest visible change under a refurbishment of Beau Sejour, with the lower courts used for housing, and the upper courts being converted into an artificial pitch for other sports.
Rebuilding
Rather than refurbish Beausie, another option is to rebuild it from scratch.
While the upfront overall costs could be high for this option, modern buildings are more energy efficient so a rebuilt centre could reduce longer-term running costs as well as being “fit for purpose” for 21st-century Guernsey.
The swimming pools would be “enhanced” under a plan to rebuild Beau Sejour, suggests the review, with a new 25m ‘main pool’ having 8/10 lanes.
With the gym also being one of Beau Sejour’s busiest areas that could get some new dedicated areas if the leisure centre is rebuilt, with targeted youth and rehabilitation areas suggested.
If new artificial pitches are created where the underused tennis courts currently are then rugby or softball could be provided for, with a ‘shock pad’ also suggested as a possibility.
A rebuilt Beau Sejour could also ensure “a range of cultural, event, and civic opportunities” can be met, suggests the review.
No decisions yet
Any notion of closing Beau Sejour was ruled out in the review.
Instead, the leisure centre would be refocused as “modern inclusive community hub or ‘wellbeing campus’, integrating sport, culture, health, youth, education, civic and wellbeing services”, the report said.
Deputy Paul Montague – President of ESC, which oversees Beau Sejour – said the review has made clear that something needs to be done about the leisure centre.
He said a decision about what will be done will have to be made as doing nothing is not an option.
“The Sustainability Review identifies that Beau Sejour’s future has reached ‘a crossroads’, and that is entirely accurate,” he said.
“The Centre has been improved and patched up incrementally over the years, but we’ve now reached the point where something more significant is undeniably required.”
He said the decision represented “a bigger crossroads for Guernsey”.
He added: “We need to look carefully at our major public buildings and think radically about how the island’s facilities can be made fit for the future, and this committee is determined to take on that challenge.”
The Sustainability Review was “an evidence base and a starting point for the more detailed analysis and validation that must happen before any future commitment is made”, Deputy Montague said.
However, there was “further work for us to do on affordability, deliverability and how these recommendations fit with wider island needs”.
He added: “The Beau Sejour redevelopment is included within the States’ Major Projects Portfolio, and the committee now begins the work of progressing it.
“That includes testing both the potential and the appetite for change, and making sure the future of Beau Sejour aligns not only with the review’s findings, but with the island’s wider infrastructure challenges, service provision and community needs.
“The review is clear on one thing: there is a real, evidenced need for investment, and simply doing nothing is not a viable long-term strategy.”
