Visitors to The Quays Swimming and Diving Complex in Southampton must now pay by card or contactless device after Active Nation stopped accepting cash at the Harbour Parade venue. A notice on the leisure centre’s website confirms the switch affects every transaction, including memberships, day passes and swimming bookings.
The complex on 27 Harbour Parade opens Monday to Friday from 06:30 to 21:00, and on weekends between 08:00 and 18:00. Anyone without a card or mobile payment method cannot enter the gym, main pool or the Lagoon leisure pool with its flumes.
The policy shift arrives during a turbulent period for the centre, which opened in 1999 and has since become one of only four High Performance Diving Centres in the UK, producing Olympic-level athletes. Active Nation, a sports and exercise charity, had been running Southampton’s leisure venues under contract with the city council until it announced it would cease operations from 2 April 2025. Places Leisure then stepped in to transfer all memberships, bookings and staff, keeping the doors open. The card-only notice remains on Active Nation’s website, though Places Leisure now operates the facility.
Regular users can still access discounted rates if they hold a Southampton Smartcities card with a Get Active subscription, and unpaid carers qualify for reductions through the Carers Card scheme. A day pass costs £10, while an adult monthly membership is £35. The centre also offers an adult annual pass at £150, down from its usual £350.
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