The multi-million pound future of an ageing leisure centre is set to be decided next week.

The Angel Centre in Tonbridge is in need of major investment to ensure it is “fit for purpose”, with councillors being asked whether a new facility should be built or the current one given a large refurbishment.

It’s estimated that creating a new building could cost anywhere between £16.5 million and £19.8m, while giving the current site a revamp would cost in the range of £8.6m to £14.6m.

Built in 1981, the leisure centre, in Angel Lane, is used for a range of sport, health and community facilities.

Tonbridge and Malling council’s representatives are set to hear more about the proposals at a meeting next Tuesday.

The committee report says deciding on the future of the Angel Centre is an important step in a wider review of council-owned assets, including a number of car parks, on neighbouring land east of Tonbridge High Street.

The council owns the building which is leased to and operated by its leisure trust partner, tmactive.

The centre features a gym, sports hall, dance studio and a pre-school nursery plus meeting rooms and The Medway Hall events space.

A refurbishment of the building to bring it to modern standards, including future government targets for carbon emissions and the council’s net zero ambitions, is needed, the local authority says.

The committee report states: “Due to its age and the changing nature of leisure provision, the Angel Centre has reached the point of requiring substantial investment in both plant and equipment and building fabric in order to remain fit for purpose in the long term.”

Unlike other centres operated by the leisure trust, the Angel Centre operates at a loss, forecast to be £265,000 for the current financial year.

Councillors will also be told that while gym membership is up on pre-pandemic levels, bookings for the Medway Hall in particular have declined since the Covid-19 pandemic, there are inadequate dance studios to meet demand and a lack of any catering facilities.

Improvements would include re-configuring the internal layout, replacing heating systems, increasing energy efficiency and replacing the sports hall floor.

Speaking about the plans, Tonbridge and Malling Leisure Trust, which operates the Angel Centre, said: “The customer journey at the Angel Centre militates against easy access and lack of dedicated changing spaces also deters customers from use of the gym in particular.

“The need to programme activities into areas not designed for purpose results in lower customer satisfaction and the continual need to move equipment around the site.

“This impacts on the ability of the trust to provide services seen as competitive in the local market.”