Popular city roller disco could be homeless

A POPULAR weekly roller disco faces being homeless after more than 10 years in Coventry.

The events have spread across the UK since they were first put on in the city - but with the sports centre about to close, it could be the end for their time in Coventry.

Coventry Sports and Leisure Centre, on Fairfax Street, is set to close soon as brand new facilities open - including the city centre water park and an Olympic-sized pool at the Alan Higgs Centre.

Although a date for the closure has not been set, clubs and groups are already starting to worry about what the future holds.

Sk8 Hire founder Heath Stone told the Telegraph he is pleading for help to find a new venue and is desperate to keep the event going in the city it was born.

He said: “We’ve had to take the news that the centre is closing on the chin. I get it, it’s an old building.

“There’s a lot of angry clubs out there that haven’t been resited.”

Heath set up his roller disco company in Coventry back in 2007 - and now holds regular events in 15 different locations, including Kenilworth, Leicester, Plymouth and Loughborough.

According to Heath, their Saturday afternoon discos in Coventry regularly get around 240 attendees, who range from as young as three-yearsold up to adults.

“When I started this I never anticipated how big it would get,” Heath said.

“It took off and that’s because of our commitment. We saw a gap in the market and we made it affordable.

“It’s demoralising to think we might not be able to stay in Coventry.”

“We have seen children from all age groups and backgrounds come and go throughout the years and know for sure we have given each and everyone one of them a time to remember whilst growing up.”

Heath has already started to look for a new venue having approached both the Cathedral and the old Gala Bingo Hall - neither of which were appropriate.

He is eager to keep the event in a central or easily accessible location and says he is keen to strike a deal with the University of Warwick, which has a huge new sports complex opening this year.

But worries over damage to the flooring have left him unable to convince the centre to take on the event.

The event currently runs every Saturday afternoon and on Wednesdays during the school holidays.

The leisure centre originally opened in 1966 but is now considered by the authority to be an ageing facility that is no longer “fit for purpose”.

The site is set for a phased closure later this yearas other provision becomes available, after which it will be declared as surplus to requirement.

Coventry is getting more than £60 million investment in sports and leisure facilities, including The Wave and a proposed new indoor bowls facility. However, earlier this year, St Michael’s ward councillor Catherine Miks raised concerns that residents and community groups could be priced out of some of Coventry’s new sports facilities.

The Coventry Sports Trust website states: “The Centre is open throughout 2018. If there is any further news we will notify customers as and when via our website and social media pages.”

Despite the council insisting a closing date for the centre is yet to be confirmed, Heath claims he is unable to make any more bookings at the centre from July.

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: “We have not set a date for the closure. But we have been clear that it will be a phased closure of Fairfax Street as new facilities including The Wave, 50m pool and bowls facilities are opened. This will ensure a smooth transition from one facility to another for most users. We are talking to staff at the Sports centre to ensure they continue to take bookings for after July.”