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Cllr Ruth Polling at the sports centre this week |
Olympic goal: a £20m sports centre
Public asked for views on plans to rebuild Sobell Centre before 2012 London games
PLANS for the rebuilding of Finsbury Park’s dilapidated Sobell Centre would give the borough a new £20million sports centre in time for the 2012 London Olympics.
More than 60,000 consultation documents are being delivered this week, giving the public, as well as schools and clubs, until the end of the month to submit ideas for the development.
The new development would mean the demolition of the existing centre, built by businessman philanthropist the late Sir Michael Sobell. It would be surrounded by a large area of new housing.
Suggestions for the centre include a swimming pool with spectator seating. The existing centre, built in 1973 for £2million, houses 16 badminton courts, squash courts, space for indoor football, trampoline, ice rink and a climbing wall, but it has no pool.
Lib Dem leisure chief Councillor Ruth Polling said the Sobell was one of the largest sports centres in the country when it was built more than 30 years ago, but its structural condition had become a cause for concern.
“The centre has a leaking roof and heating. Lighting and ventilation systems all need replacing,” she added. “It has become too expensive to do patchwork repairs. So this is a golden opportunity to do something really radical and exciting for the 500,000 people who use it each year.”
Arsenal is to provide £1million towards the cost of the new centre.
Cllr Polling, a keen swimmer, said that personally she would like to see a 25-metre indoor pool included in the new centre but did not want to pre-empt public discussion of the four options in the consultation document.
She added: “In Islington, we can’t host junior swimming competitions because we don’t have a 25-metre pool with a gallery. It means our kids have to travel away and they never get that home support in competitions.”
She denied that housing would eat up space for sports and leisure. “Housing will not only help to pay for the scheme but is a necessity and 50 per cent will be affordable,” she said.
“Islington has a massive housing shortage. It is the biggest issue in the borough. It will be a fantastic opportunity to rehouse people from the waiting list.”
The planned new centre will be slightly smaller than the current building but it is hoped to use space better. “In the current building only 40 per cent is used for leisure,” Cllr Polling said. “The rest is corridors and reception areas. So there will be more efficient use of space and more facilities.”
A decision on the redevelopment is expected by late summer and work could begin on the new development early next year. Current users of the Sobell Centre will be directed to the borough’s other sports centres when work begins and there are also plans to open school sports halls at weekends and evenings.
An exhibition of plans is being staged at the Sobell Centre. |
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