Demolition of the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre approved
A planning application seeking permission to demolish the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre was approved by councillors at the end of August.
Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee decided the building, which closed at the end of December 2015, can be demolished, with landscaping of the site carried out until plans are developed for the future use of the land.
The existing building, in Boythorpe Road, has to be demolished because it is no longer economically viable to keep running due to not being energy efficient, not being up to modern environmental requirements and having high running costs.
As a result of the application going to the planning committee the public consultation on future use of the old site will now take place between Monday 12 September and Friday 21 October.
Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centre and visitor economy, said: “We are turning our attention to the future use of the site.
“We have been researching a whole range of potential options for the site and assessing whether they are viable from a planning perspective, as we need to protect the historic grade two star listing of the neighbouring park, by ensuring any future use is compatible with that leisure setting.
“In this time of cuts to council finances we also need to ensure that whatever goes on the site is either cost neutral or generates income for the council that can then be used to help towards the costs of running Queen’s Park and future improvements to that site.”
This week security fencing has been installed around part of the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre building to address concerns about anti-social behaviour around the park. The fencing is designed to prevent vandalism or potential break-ins and is not related to the demolition.
The former sports centre closed when the new £11.25 million Queen’s Park Sports Centre opened further down Boythorpe Road in January 2016 on the Queen’s Park Annexe site.
