King Alfred development

Watch the video below to find out more about the project.

The current project to replace the facility began in late summer 2022. Three key workstreams were undertaken to bring together the information needed to shape decisions on the location of the new facility. Those were:

• a comprehensive site search, to identify and evaluate all sites in the west of the city with the potential to host the new facility 
• working with specialist sport and leisure experts to develop a ‘Green Book’ business case (based on Treasury guidance) to comprehensively examine and evaluate the options for delivering the new facility
• a programme of resident engagement to capture views from the city’s communities to shape the project where practicable 

Only two sites emerged from the site search process – the existing King Alfred site (“the existing site”) and the council-owned land south of Sainsbury’s fronting Old Shoreham Road (“LSS site”). We consulted residents on the sites during January and February 2024.

At its July meeting, Cabinet considered a report bringing together the findings from all of this work. Cabinet decided to develop the new facility on part of the existing seafront King Alfred site. Over the next year, we'll be working to appoint the professional team to lead the next stages of the design work and the development of the planning application.

We'll look to return to a future Cabinet meeting in the summer of 2025 to seek agreement on the design and for the landowner’s consent for submission of a planning application.

Find out more about the July Cabinet meeting.