Bransbury Park

This page gives you information about the plans for the new leisure centre and GP surgery at Bransbury Park, along with changes to the park’s layout, sustainability features, community benefits, and impact on local facilities, parking, public transport access, and more.

If you have a question that isn’t listed below, please email us on bransburypark@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

View the layout of the planned new facilities

Take a look at the video to see the layout of the plans in Bransbury Park.

General information

Why Bransbury Park?

In 2021, an independent sequential site assessment was carried out on the possible sites in the southeast of the city. Bransbury Park was the preferred option. The sequential site assessment was repeated in 2024 because the design had changed. This confirmed Bransbury Park as the preferred site. The sequential site assessment and a detailed rationale for the location are both available from the council’s planning application website.

Bransbury Park is a better location for residents in the south of the city. Data shows that 35,796 residents are within 1.5km of Eastney Community Centre, whereas only 17,933 live within the same radius of the former Eastney Swimming Pool (based on the latest ONS 2022 forecast). It is also within 10 minutes walking distance of five local schools. For reference, it takes around 20 minutes to walk 1.5km at an easy pace. You can view the Bransbury Park walking distance map (PDF) which shows bus routes, local schools alongside walking and cycling times in the south-east of the city.

Will we lose other facilities that are at Bransbury Park?

The miniature railway, the football pitches, and the flower garden will remain, and a relocated playground will be provided with all new equipment.

A new netball hub will be created at the Mountbatten Centre to replace the courts being removed at Bransbury Park, which is supported by Portsmouth Netball League and England Netball. Improved tennis facilities are already available at nearby Milton Park.

Is another leisure centre needed?

Yes. Whilst we have Mountbatten Leisure centre in the north of the city, there isn’t anything similar for residents in the south of the city.

Why have you included a GP surgery in the plans?

The current GP practice on Devonshire Avenue is no longer fit for purpose. By including this in the scheme, we can create a hub for sport and healthcare, and the council will also be paid rent by the practice which helps make the building more financially sustainable.

Extensive discussions with the Lighthouse Practice and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board have concluded that this is only option available to provide a replacement for the Devonshire Avenue Surgery.

We have received confirmation that Devonshire Avenue surgery will close unless a local replacement is found. Continuity of care is very important to many patients and so they would be forced to travel to the Lighthouse Practice’s other location, Southsea Medical Centre, 1.9 km away.

Is the miniature railway affected?

No. In a previous version of the plan, the railway was going to be re-aligned. However, in the most recent version that has been approved by the local planning authority, it will stay as it is.

How do you know if residents want a new leisure centre at Bransbury Park?

During November and December 2020, we ran a survey to ask residents about sport and leisure facilities and whether they support plans for a new centre at Bransbury Park.

1800 residents responded to the survey and 63% of them agreed or strongly agreed with the leisure centre proposal at Bransbury Park. Since then, further consultation has taken place.

You can find information about each stage of consultation below:

• Bransbury Park leisure centre design consultation March 2023
• Bransbury Park community facilities survey December 2022
• Engagement event March 2022 (PDF)
• Sport and leisure users consultation 2021

Will you be building the GP surgery and leisure centre on green space?

No. We intend to build on the existing hard courts. We will plant around fifty new trees across the site when the work is complete. The car park extension in the southeast corner of the park will be constructed with Grasscrete to minimise impact.

Will Eastney Community Centre be affected?

No. Following consultation with the community, the community centre and cafe will stay as they are. The leisure centre and GP surgery will be built next to it.

Will this impact parking in our residential streets?

The car park at the southeast corner of the park will be expanded to 71 spaces, using a material called Grasscrete (or similar), which you can see an example of above. It would remain free but with a three-hour limit, similar to the north of Bransbury Road.

The north side of Bransbury Road which is a three-hour zone would remain, and will be extended eastwards to meet the double yellow lines, increasing traffic turnover. We’d put new signage in place to direct customers to the car park, and we would improve the lighting between the proposed centre and the car park too. Disabled spaces would be created next to the centre on Bransbury Road.

The transport study carried out as part of the planning application shows there will be a peak of around 70 cars at the busiest times (6–7 pm on weekdays), which can be accommodated in the expanded car park and on the north side of Bransbury Road and also coincides with the existing MH zone permit hours.

The area east of the existing MH zone south of Bransbury Park and areas north of the park have previously indicated they were not in favour of introducing a residents’ parking zone. However, if there is clearly a new material change in the impact of roads in any area of the city, a request can be made by residents to the parking team for an informal consultation on what options might reduce the impact. This would apply to the Bransbury Park leisure centre once it has opened.

We will also strongly encourage the use of public transport, walking, cycling, and e-scooters to access this community facility. Previous consultations we have held have also indicated that many visitors will walk, cycle, or use hire scooters to travel to the leisure centre. We've produced a map showing all the transport connections and how many people live within walking distance of Bransbury Park (PDF).

We will be using a material called Grasscrete (or a similar product), which combines the environmental appeal of natural grass with the engineering principles of reinforced concrete. When installed, it includes holes that can be filled with grassed soil, giving a more natural appearance. It also allows water to pass through the concrete, meaning it is more sustainable and reduces surface water drainage runoff, which relieves pressure on our combined sewerage system in Portsmouth.

Will there be increased traffic?

The consultations we have held have told us that many visitors will walk, cycle, or use hire scooters to travel to the leisure centre. It could also result in less people travelling through the area to go to another venue in another part of the city. A full traffic assessment was undertaken before we submitted our planning application.

Will the new leisure centre be accessible via public transport?

Yes. Bransbury Park is on several bus routes. View the Bransbury Park transport and walking distance map (PDF).

When will the new centre open?

It’s too early to say when the new leisure centre will be completed, but we’d like the centre to open in 2027.

We will agree timelines with our contractor to build the new centre soon, and we hope construction of the new playground will begin on site first, with the main build following after.

What are the planned opening times?

It’s too early to decide operating details. As a guide only, the Mountbatten Centre opens from 6.15am to 10pm.

What is Sport England's position on investing in sports facilities?

There has been some speculation online regarding Sport England’s willingness to investing in combined and stand-alone sports facilities. However, this information is incorrect and irrelevant, due to changes in the focus of their investment.

Sport England’s Strategic Facilities Fund, which invested in facilities, was closed a few years ago and replaced by the Place Partnerships Fund. The Place Partnerships Fund focuses on ‘place-based’ activation work in the 100 most deprived areas of England, rather than investing in facilities. In Portsmouth, only Charles Dickens ward (Landport) is included within this work, which does not cover Eastney Swimming Pool or Bransbury Park.

What facilities will the Pompey Pedals group use in future?

We have been in contact with Pompey In The Community, who run the project. We will provide a safe loop of the park by adding some paths so that their users can cycle round the park without being directed out of the park onto the highway.

Have you considered users with disabilities?

We have engaged with many disability groups from across the city, including a disability workshop in September 2023, to hear their views on accessibility and to incorporate them into the design.

There will be multiple access points into the pool, including shallow steps, PoolPod and hoist. Most facilities are on the ground floor with lifts to first floor accommodation. Internal circulation space has been designed with accessibility in mind.

There is a changing places toilet as well as other accessible toilets. Changing spaces are flexible and can accommodate people with disability. The building is raised slightly due to flood risk, but suitably inclined ramps are provided and in a location that is central to the building.