CITY bosses have been urged to speed up multi-million pound plans to revamp the Outdoor Sports Centre.

Cllr Satvir Kaur, former cabinet member for culture and current leader of the opposition on Southampton City Council, is calling on the authority to go ahead with the £16m scheme. to revamp the Outdoor Sports Centre

It comes as sShe said a public consultation was set to be launched soon after this year’s local elections when Labour lost control of the city council.

Southampton Athletics Club are also seeking reassurance over the future of the scheme.

Cllr Kaur said the plans were “ready to go” and included a new club house, grandstand, a community hub, a family zone and ski lodge.

The council said it was determined to press ahead with the project and stressed the new Conservative administration wants to ensure the current draft masterplan gives “the best outcomes for the city”.

But Cllr Kaur said: “We had all stakeholders on board and the necessary budget allocated. Everything was in place to start formal consultation, days after the local election, with a planning application due in September. We are now calling on the new Conservative council to act as soon as possible; they have already caused an unnecessary two-month delay which local clubs are paying the price for and is putting income from external investors at risk.”

Tracey Jones, chair of Southampton Athletics Club, which is based at the Sports Centre, said: the club is looking for reassurance.“If there is further delay we will be in the desperate situation of investing on more short term measures but more importantly we will lose the goodwill of our members.If we are unable to compete locally we will struggle to provide the services to our members and the community around us.”

Cllr John Hannides, cabinet member for finance and capital assets, said: “We are determined to press ahead with these much-needed improvements and we are still on track to consult with the public later this summer. Council officers have already undertaken consultation with a number of clubs, including Southampton Athletics Club,  based at the Outdoor Sports Centre, and we are confident that the public consultation on this exciting project will be well received by wider stakeholders as well.” With the council looking to invest over £10m, it’s vital all the proposals have been thoroughly reviewed by the newly appointed cabinet. This will ensure we are able to support and deliver the proposals currently included within the consultation, to deliver these long awaited improvements for the city.”