Deputy Hugh Raymond, who has political responsibility for sport, said that Active Jersey and the gym were likely to be relocated, with areas such as Springfield and the Waterfront potential new homes for the facilities.
He added, however, that he did not want the Fort to be left empty and that work to redevelop the venue by creating an events space or cultivating its historic value had been discussed.
The Deputy said that an ‘exciting’ announcement would be made in late March.
It was announced earlier this week that sports clubs and organisations based at Fort Regent were being contacted in relation to a relocation to ‘alternative facilities’, as the centre was no longer viewed as ‘the best venue’ for many activities.
However, some sports organisations which use the Fort have indicated they would be like to stay if possible and have called for investment to make the site a world-class sports facility (see today’s sports pages for more coverage).
Work is currently being carried out to remove asbestos and demolish what is left of the old swimming pool.
Deputy Raymond said that the plan to relocate clubs had not been driven by the building work or the site’s use as the Island’s Covid-19 vaccination centre.
He added that the move was part of a broader long-term strategy for sport in the Island and that he would fight ‘tooth and nail’ to make sure the building was put to good use in the future.
‘One thing I really don’t want to see is the Fort empty. It will be used for other ideas that we have in place,’ he said.
‘For instance, most of the big events used to be at Fort Regent. Are we going to have to look at having a facility, for argument’s sake, of a 3,000-seater auditorium to bring people over?
‘Fort Regent goes back to the 1800s and sometimes people forget the historic value of it, and we’ve got to put that into our plans. All these things are being discussed.
‘Money has been put aside in the Government Plan. Fort Regent will be used but it will be used in a different way than it was for sport, probably on the entertainment side and the cultural side. We’re going to have to speak to people and say the Fort will not be used in this sense anymore and therefore Active sport, the gym up there and all these sorts of things have to be looked at and potential venues considered.
‘But I can assure you that with regards to the gym, it will be centralised in the sense that it will be in or around St Helier.’
