The Rendezvous on Union Street is to become the permanent home of a rehabilitation charity under plans by Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC), which will see it close as a community space.

The building, owned by the council, had been available to book as a community space for hire, enabling activities such as classes, meetings and charity nights to be held on site.

However, TVBC says that the number of bookings over recent years has been low, in addition to costing the council “thousands of pounds each year.”

As a result, the Rendezvous is set to be rented to Valley Leisure Ltd, subject to planning permission being granted, which will see the I Can centre at the Salto centre in Charlton relocate to the premises.

TVBC’s finance portfolio holder, councillor Maureen Flood, said: “This is a decision that we have been considering for a long while, certainly before the pandemic.”

“In the last full financial year before lockdown the Rendezvous was used by community organisations at a concessionary rate just 15 times. The vast majority of these bookings were for the Freedom Programme run by the Andover Crisis and Support Centre, who have now migrated to the Upper Guildhall. If you add in all the private bookings, it was still being hired out less than once a week.”

“Instead of letting the building sit empty for a vast majority of the time, it’s wonderful that Valley Leisure can make use of the premises for such a fantastic purpose, and with the George Yard car park being so close, it’s an ideal location for them. I hope that it will also boost footfall in the town centre.”

The council says it can “comfortably accommodate” others who need space in community spaces around Andover, including those that have opened since the Rendezvous like the Augusta Park and Picket Twenty community centres.

Chief Executive of Valley Leisure Ltd, Chris Attrill said: “The move to Union Street is ideal for this bespoke service. The team are looking forward to the move as it provides the perfect environment in which to create the warm, welcoming and friendly setting in which they can best encourage and enable customers to gain physical, mental and social benefit from the service in addition to combatting the impact of loneliness and isolation.

“We know that the I Can service in the town centre will also bring additional footfall and the fantastic parking facilities and ease of access that the locations brings, will help encourage more customers to engage with the service.”