THE Active gym at Fort Regent has closed for good, with an ‘expanded and modernised’ gym at Springfield Stadium expected to open for Active members today.
The closure of the gym at Fort Regent is ‘part of the longer-term plans to decant the Fort in preparation for future redevelopment’, according to the government.
The refurbished Springfield facility includes a 75-station gym with free weights, cardio and fixed-weights areas, a Mind & Body Studio, a state-of-the-art spin studio and a large studio suitable for classes such as circuits and Boxfit.
Assistant Economic Development Minister Deputy Lucy Stephenson, who has responsibility for sport, said the redevelopment was part of a ‘significant programme of investment being made by the government into Jersey’s sporting facilities’.
Government plans to reduce the number of clubs in Fort Regent to five by next year have been controversial – with a campaign group set up to stop the removal of sport from the St Helier leisure centre. The ‘Friends of Fort Regent’ group – set up in March by Roy Travert – ‘strongly urged’ States Members to ‘consider the immense value that these facilities bring to the local community and keep the sports facilities open’.
At the end of last year, work to turn Fort Regent into a ‘cultural and leisure destination’ was put on hold to accelerate the move of sport out of the venue.
Infrastructure Minister Deputy Tom Binet has confirmed earlier this year that plans for Fort Regent developed by the previous government were ‘unfeasible in the current economic climate’.
However, he added: ‘The Future Places Ministerial Group are reassessing what is feasible and are committed to developing an affordable and deliverable proposal for the future of Fort Regent, and to securing an appropriate mandate from the States Assembly.’
And giving an update on the move of sport out of the centre, he said: ‘The number of government services, sports clubs and commercial enterprises operating at Fort Regent has reduced from 39 in 2019 and to 21 in 2023. This is expected to reduce to five in 2024.’
