Archery club that ran for 20 years in Chichester to fold due to Six Villages leisure centre closing

Freedom Leisure, which also runs Arun Leisure Centre and the Wave in Littlehampton, has managed the facility on Ormiston Academy’s behalf since 2011 but, will give the centre back at the end of April.

The news follows a consultation with senior members of the school’s leadership which identified a heightened need for the space due to an increase in pupil numbers and a need to give those pupils additional sports and learning facilities.

This news has been ‘upsetting’ in particular for Six Villages Archery club, who have not been able to find a new location. They have operated at the leisure centre for 20 years, and at their peak had over 40 members last year.

Roger Hudson the club’s records officer said: “Three weeks ago we were informed about the leisure centre being removed from the building. All of our bookings from the end of April were cancelled. It’s a shame as we were looking to put on a big event in the summer for people all across West Sussex. By the end of We had a successful tournament last year and the year before. We can’t put those on now which is a real shame. We wanted to keep the club going until August, which is when our tournament was supposed to be, but this was not possible. It’s left a lot of archers upset and unhappy.”