RIVER Park Leisure Centre will be decommissioned – but the future of the building is still uncertain.

Winchester City Council's cabinet held an online meeting on June 24.

Members agreed to determine what to do with the building when the coronavirus crisis is over, and when the impact it has had on the property market is better understood.

This was criticised by Cllr Steve Miller, who said the council have had plenty of time to come up with a plan.

The Bishop's Waltham ward representative said: "I'm very concerned that there are no plans yet. I understand we now have to wait to review the impact of Covid-19, but the decision should have been made a long time ago.

"It seems it has been delayed and delayed – I urge the council to just get on with it."

A decision is expected to be made at a cabinet meeting next year.

For now, the building will be closed to the public and will no longer be used for sport and leisure activities.

This is in anticipation of the new leisure centre being built in Bar End, which is expected to open next year.

Cllr Kelsie Learney raised concerns over the structure of the River Park site.

She said: "It has been considered to keep the building open for changing rooms and a cafe, but the cost is high to employ cleaning staff and the building is laid out poorly.

"It's also in a bad state structurally."

She added that the council do not know how much asbestos is in the building because it was erected "in a time when this kind of paperwork was not considered important".

An asbestos survey needs to be carried out soon. Case officer Veryan Lyons said it is "not possible to estimate the cost of this" as of yet.

Temporary public toilets will be set up at the popular greenspace just off North Walls in the near future.