Since its inception in Autumn 2022, the current project has been accompanied by a wide-ranging programme of public engagement.

There have been 3 key phases of engagement so far.

Phase 1, September to December 2022

This phase focused on engaging with core users of the King Alfred. These groups included:

  • leaseholders at the current facility such as the boxing club
  • sports clubs and community groups that regularly hire the facility

Phase 2, from January 2023

This phase expanded the engagement activities to connect with wider community groups and residents. This included:

  • an all-day drop-in event in April 2023
  • a ‘visioning workshop’
  • specialist work with partners including Trust for Developing Communities to engage with minoritised ethnic groups and younger people

Phase 3, the beginning of January 2024

At this stage, after an extensive site search across the west of the city, we had identified just 2 sites as potential locations for the new facility, these were the:

  • existing King Alfred site
  • council-owned green space at the land south of Sainsbury’s (LSS)

With that in mind, the engagement during phase 3 was focused on capturing views about those site options.

In addition to hosting drop-in sessions across the west of the city, views were captured through an online questionnaire which attracted over 3,600 responses.

Responses to 2024 survey

The outcomes of public engagement were a significant factor in informing the Cabinet’s choice of site. In brief, whilst there has been a diverse range of views about the location of the new facility, the survey work conducted in early 2024 showed a preference for the existing King Alfred site.

The outcomes of the survey, along with the findings of the business case and other factors relating to planning policy, legal matters, and the potential loss of green space all shaped councillors’ decision to proceed with the current King Alfred site.

The feedback we received from the engagement also helped inform a number of key principles that will inform the design of the new facility. These are:

  • Designing-in accessibility 
  • Designing-in inclusivity
  • Embedding sustainability and supporting the council’s net zero ambitions
  • Designing with maintenance and longevity in mind. 

Designing-in accessibility 

We spoke to many groups representing disabled people and many disabled individuals. They articulated a shared view of the importance of making the new facility accessible and navigable for all residents and ensure wherever possible that we remove barriers to participation for disabled people.

Taking account of these messages, we have set a brief for the design team to ensure that the new facility is fully accessible to provide opportunities, reduce barriers, and encourage more people to be more active more often. 

The professional team’s design will reflect industry best practice standards in promoting inclusivity, and will also align to the guiding principles set out in the council’s first ‘Accessible City Strategy’ launched in 2023.  

Designing-in inclusivity

Our engagement work also highlighted the importance of recognising and responding to cultural sensitivities. We undertook extensive engagement with groups representing faith communities, LGBTQ+ people, older people, and young people. 

For example, feedback from some women, faith groups, and older people indicated a wish for greater privacy in changing areas and swimming pools, which could be provided with a new facility. Similarly, the feedback from the LGBTQ community highlighted a need to consider how gender-neutral changing facilities and features such as a Changing Places toilet can be incorporated into the design for the new facility. 

We will look to further involve these communities as the design team develop their proposals for the new facility so that an understanding of their requirements and lived experience can helpfully inform the next stages of the design work.  

Embedding sustainability and supporting the council’s net zero ambitions

During the engagement process, many of the conversations we had with current users related to the condition of the current facility. The fabric of the building falls significantly short of modern standards and energy efficiency is poor. The delivery of the new facility creates the opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and running costs, and the council is keen to maximise this opportunity to improve the environmental sustainability of the facility in the long-term. 

The design will therefore make best use of low and zero carbon technologies and construction techniques to minimise the embodied carbon arising from construction and energy consumption in use and operation. 

Designing with maintenance and longevity in mind

Another strong theme from our engagement work was the importance of designing the facility in a way to maximise longevity and to minimise the maintenance and operations costs over the life of the facility. 

With that in mind, in addition to minimising the heating, lighting, and other energy costs as, above, the facility will be designed in a way which will:

  • minimise the need for component replacement throughout the life of the facility
  • make any necessary component replacement accessible and cost effective to carry out
  • use materials, surface finishes, and construction techniques that take due account of the coastal location and provide an appropriate level of enhanced resistance and resilience 
  • ensure that the design takes account of the potential for more frequent extreme weather events as climate change continues. 

Our engagement work will continue as the project progresses into the design stage and as the planning application is prepared.  

Reference Group

A project reference group provides an important additional channel for resident engagement. The group will act as an important sounding board for the project as it moves forward. 

The Reference Group was established by contacting people who had engaged with us previously through the events mentioned above, and who had indicated that they would be keen to be involved in the project. 

Group members were selected from those who expressed an interest to ensure a representative range of people from sports clubs, resident groups, and other groups reflecting the diversity of the city. 

While the majority of current group members are drawn from the local community, the group also has 6 members from national governing bodies and other regional partners such as Active Sussex.

The group had its first meeting in October 2023 and have met again at key points in the project’s development since then.

The group is expected to have its next meeting in February 2025. That meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the professional team’s emerging proposals for the design of the new facility.