6:30pm Saturday 13th June 2009
By Andy Chiles
The King Alfred Leisure Centre is to be given a facelift to attract customers back to it.
Brighton and Hove City Council's cabinet has agreed to pump money into the leisure centre in Hove after accepting that no development will take place for at least three years.
The council will try to bring the building up to scratch after it was allowed to run down in anticipation of the Frank Gehry designed redevelopment of the site.
Plans to redevelop the site with a new sports centre and 750 flats in a development by the famous architect collapsed last year when investors pulled out due to the credit crunch.
The council has already spent £859,000 making sure it meets health and safety requirements, which has included taking down the flumes, and will spend another £641,000 completing that work.
Councillors have now agreed to spend an additional £750,000 improving the centre in the hope of attracting back customers who have been deterred by its run-down appearance and the impression it is closing.
This includes improving the entrance, installing new windows and doors, replacing the loss-making cafe with an extended gym, refurbishing the changing rooms and redecorating.
The council has said this will be cost efficient and make use of the important facility, which was built in 1938.
However those opposed to the refurbishment plans said that the refurbishment costs were only so high because the leisure centre had been run into the ground.
Valerie Paynter, from Hove, said: “The council deprived it of essential maintenance and care expenditure and many believe it was to persuade the public it had to be demolished.”
A spokesman for the council said: “Investing some money in the existing building would help bring in more customers and revenue to support the operation.
“As one of our biggest facilities it's very important to the health and well-being of the city that we keep the building operational.
“Until the time we get a new building there are some things we can do to make it more pleasant for customers.”
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