Review to consider environmental upgrades and improvements to the Taro Leisure Centre
Reducing carbon emissions and improving the Taro Leisure Centre in Petersfield are two of the top targets in a forthcoming review of East Hampshire District Council’s leisure centres.
The review, launched by Cabinet on 12 November, will cover the three leisure centres in East Hampshire - the facilities in Whitehill & Bordon and Alton, both opened in 2020, and the centre in Petersfield, which opened in 1992.
The review's key focus will be on ways to improve the environmental performance of the service across all centres, but particularly the Taro Leisure Centre, and potential for investment in the Taro’s poolside facilities.
The council will also work with leisure centre operators Everyone Active to make sure the contract continues to deliver the best results for residents into the future.
Cllr Richard Millard, EHDC Leader, said: "The leisure operation in East Hampshire has been a huge success since the current contract was signed with Everyone Active in 2017.
"We have delivered two brand new leisure centres and visitor numbers have more than doubled in that time. “But we can’t rest on our laurels, we know there is more work to be done. The leisure centres contribute a large portion of EHDC’s annual carbon output, we want to look at ways we can address that and make a big stride towards improving our goal of net-zero.
“We also know the Taro Leisure Centre is the oldest of the three facilities we offer and would benefit from investment and improvements, particularly around the pool. This review will examine the case for upgrading these facilities.”
Recorded visits across the council’s leisure centres have increased from 683,673 visits in 2017/18 to 1,520,548 visits in 2025/26.
The Taro Leisure Centre produces approximately 631 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The proposed review will establish the evidence needed to identify affordable improvements to deliver environmental benefits and upgrade the customer experience.
Commissioning the work as one integrated review will reduce the risk of duplicated analysis, conflicting assumptions or decisions being made without a full understanding of the wider leisure contract.
The review will be carried out by an external consultant and will take about six months to complete. Any investment in the Taro Leisure Centre will be subject to a business case, formal approval and approximately six months of external specialist work.