Since the Outdoor Sports Centre opened in 1938, a number of changes, improvements and modifications have been made. We recognised that there was considerable interest in establishing a future vision for the Outdoor Sports Centre by developing key areas for improvement to enhance its offer for both competitive sports and leisure users. Over recent years, a number of community engagement activities have taken place to inform a masterplan of improvements that have directed us to where we are now.
2013
In November 2013, a series of ten drop-in sessions were held at a range of community venues with the aim of engaging local people and sports clubs to identify what they liked and disliked about the Outdoor Sports Centre. This engagement provided valuable feedback where key themes and ideas came to light. This included:
- Development of Club Hub and Sports facilities to include: changing and toilet provision, meeting rooms, Café/refreshment provision, indoor sports provision
- Creation of Physical Activity Opportunities to include: Marked running/jogging route, cycling circuit, outdoor gym
- Infrastructure Improvements: increase and improve car park provision, improve lighting on access routes or footpaths within the site
- Open Space: develop the existing woodland walks, consider options for dog walking areas and other recreational activities
Following this, we developed a draft improvement plan which covered key topics including car parking, recreational activities, sports facilities, and the ski centre.
2015
In 2015, this improvement plan along with a proposed vision for the Outdoor Sports Centre went through a 12-week public consultation where local residents, sports clubs and organisations, Friends of Southampton Sports Centre (FOSSC) and a wider audience could review and comment on the proposals. With over 1,200 responses, 89% of respondents agreed with the suggested priority areas for improvement which were listed as: Development of Hub(s), Sports facilities, Creation of physical activity opportunities, Infrastructure improvement, with a large majority, who currently use the Outdoor Sports Centre once a month or less, stating that they would use the facility more if improvements were made.
2016
The next milestone in the project was the appointment of ‘Places for People’ in 2016 who carried out further work to take the project forward by refining the proposals in line with the consultation responses and developing a viable plan.
2017
In 2017, we expanded our feasibility work to include all elements of the scheme including a detailed evaluation of the football elements and a new ‘Club Hub’. This work generated a list of recommendations which were then incorporated into the improvement plan to form the masterplan of improvements.
2018
With the initial improvement plan developing into a masterplan for the whole site, we undertook a review in 2018 to identify whether there was a need for further public consultation. It was concluded that a final public consultation on the masterplan of improvements would be conducted to ensure the proposals satisfy public need and support.
