Troubled sports project a step closer to reopening

Erewash Borough Council’s (EBC) crisis-ridden flagship sports development, Sport Erewash, has taken a tentative step towards finally opening its doors by winning a public vote on further financing of the site.

So far, the council has already invested over £4m in the facility. However, upon its completion in September 2003, the Sport Erewash centre was deemed a health hazard and having incomplete operational equipment and immediately shut. It has remained closed ever since.

After deciding that it will inject further funding into the project – rather than demolish the site to cut its losses – the council put to public vote three proposals of how to bring the facilities up to standard.

The results are now in and Erewash council has revealed that over 70 per cent of voters favoured the option of spending an extra £2.5m of public money on the centre.

The funding will allow the athletics pavilion to be turned into a fitness gym and the tennis centre to be completed to allow both individual and club use.

EBC is expected to endorse the proposal at its next meeting on 29 July with work commencing in October. If the motion is passed and work gets under way on schedule, the centre is due to open by June 2005.

John Rice, EBC chief executive, said: “Sport Erewash has been a long-standing and difficult issue for the council to deal with and the outcome of the consultation is a significant milestone in the history of the project.”

The council sent 6,000 voting cards to a random sample of registered voters and made a further 3,500 available at council offices and other public venues. It also opened website for those wishing to vote online.

All in all, the council received back 1,234 votes from the public, including 57 internet votes, resulting in a response rate of around 12 per cent.