FAMILIES were once again able to enjoy the fun pool at Eastbourne’s Sovereign Centre this morning (Saturday), as it was reopened after a nine-month closure.
The town’s MP, Josh Babarinde thanked supporters for their continued efforts and described it as ‘a great day for Eastbourne as the community has been listened to’.
GLL, the largest UK-based charitable social enterprise delivering leisure, health and community services, took over the running of the centre on 1st April.
The company promises a £1m investment in the centre over the coming years after it was closed in 2024 by Eastbourne Borough Council, due to rising operating costs.
At the reopening this morning, Josh Babarinde said: “It is great to see the fun pool, and the centre itself packed full of families who have come in to enjoy what local families need and what local families deserve – this has been a community effort.
“I pay massive tribute to all of those residents and campaigners who mobilised to make the case for reopening our fun pool and I was delighted to be able to take those concerns to the council and also speak up in Parliament and demand that the council consider a new operator, which is exactly what it has done – and look at the result of all of that work by so many across our town including the council, so well done to everyone, this is our community pulling together.”
GLL says there will be a number of changes to the centre such as programmes and customer facing areas over the next few months, and it hopes to encourage more residents to come back.
Joseph Rham told Eastbourne News: “We want as many people as possible to come back, enjoy the centre, spread the word that the fun pool is reopening, make it as busy as possible and then hopefully, we can start to think about what that future looks like.
“That’s the biggest thing local people can do to support that vision.”
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