Open every day, 7am–10pm 01284 754654  ·  sportshall@southlee.co.uk  ·  Free parking
South Lee Sports Centre A community space · Bury St Edmunds Book now

Nowton Road · Bury St Edmunds

Welcome to the South Lee Sports Centre

You will find us on the Victory Sports Ground on Nowton Road, in the heart of Bury St Edmunds and right beside Nowton Park. Our hall belongs to the town as much as to the school, and we are delighted to share it, seven days a week, from early in the morning until late at night.

  • Open every day, 7am–10pm
  • From £32 an hour
  • Free parking at the door
Book the hall online What can I do here?
A young boy in South Lee sports kit sprinting across the hall and grinning, with his class sitting along the wall behind him

What we offer

Three ways to use the Centre

Whether you run a club, would like to train, or have a birthday coming up, there is a space here for you.

The empty sports hall, its floor marked out for several sports

Clubs, teams & groups

Hire the hall

A full-size indoor sports hall by the half hour, the hour, or every week through the term. The equipment is already here and set out for you.

The fitness centre, with weights, benches, bikes and a rowing machine

Fitness & training

Gym & personal training

Our fitness centre is run by Sam Last of SGL Training: the equipment, the classes and one-to-one coaching for adults and young people alike.

A little girl in a striped skirt laughing as she runs past a cone in the hall

Birthdays & private hire

Have your party here

Take the hall for the afternoon, bring whatever entertainment you like, and let thirty children run about in a space big enough for it.

Before you book

Have a look and see

People ask us most often whether a particular thing is possible here. Nearly always it is, so here is the answer straight away, with the price alongside it.

Can I do that here?

Choose what you have in mind and we will tell you what you need and what it costs.

Our sports hall

A generous space, properly equipped

  • 0mHall length
  • 0mHall width
  • 0Badminton courts
  • 0Changing rooms
  • 7am–10pmEvery single day

At 36.5 metres by 21, it is one of the larger indoor sporting spaces in Bury St Edmunds. It can be taken whole, or divided in half behind the curtain if you need something smaller.

Everything below is already in the building and included in the hire. Simply tell us what you need when you book and it will be out and ready for you.

  • Four badminton courts with nets
  • Four basketball hoops, widthways
  • Four cricket nets with bowling carpets
  • Indoor football goals
  • Full-court netball
  • Mini tennis and volleyball
  • A viewing balcony for spectators
  • Four changing rooms with showers
See the hall plan
A young boy in South Lee sports kit stretching to touch his toes and grinning up at the camera during a warm-up in the hall

Not only sport

A large, warm, level room in the middle of town

A sports hall is simply a very big room, and plenty of what happens here has nothing to do with sport at all. Hire for something other than sport has VAT added at 20%. Do tell us what you have in mind and we will give you the full figure.

Fairs and fetes

Stalls around the edge, aisles down the middle, and a level floor throughout.

Exhibitions and markets

Wide doors, free parking at the door and room for a proper crowd.

Examinations

A large, quiet room with clear sight lines. Ask us about desks and seating.

Meetings and talks

A village meeting, a club AGM or an evening talk. Ask us about seating.

Dance shows and rehearsals

A sprung, marked floor with a balcony for family to watch from.

Health and community days

Clinics, blood donation, warm spaces. The hall divides easily.

Tell us what you have in mind

Finding us

Easy to find, and easy to park

We are just off Nowton Road on the south side of Bury St Edmunds, a few minutes from the town centre and next door to Nowton Park. The Centre sits on the Victory Sports Ground, across the road from South Lee Prep School.

Turn off Nowton Road into the main car park and follow the road alongside the tennis courts. It will bring you directly to the Sports Centre door. Parking is free for everyone using the Centre.

The Sports Centre seen across the playing field: a tall blue-clad hall above a brick lower storey, with a lower brick building beside it

Address

Victory Sports Ground
Nowton Road
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk IP33 2BT
Get directions

Contact

01284 754654
sportshall@southlee.co.uk

Clare Fayers manages the Centre and will gladly help with any enquiry.

Coming to see us

Getting in, and what to expect

If it would help to know what a visit is like before you arrive, here is the shape of it.

Getting here and in

  • Step-free into the building, by a ramp
  • Disabled parking spaces; the rest of the car park is gravel
  • Accessible toilets throughout the Centre
  • Four changing rooms, two of them for individuals

While you are here

  • A viewing balcony above the hall for anyone waiting
  • The hall can be curtained off for a quieter, smaller space
  • Assistance dogs are welcome
  • Do tell us in advance and we will have things ready for you

Hall hire

A hall for your club, your team or your evening

Book by the half hour, the hour, or the same slot every week through the term. There is no membership to join and no waiting list. Look at the diary below, pick the time you want, and pay by card.

  • Book online, pay by card
  • Book as far ahead as the diary allows
  • All the equipment included
Check availability See our rates
The empty sports hall, its floor marked out for several sports

The hall

See it laid out before you book

People often ask what will actually fit. Rather than describe it, here is the floor itself, drawn to scale. Choose what you would like to do and see it marked out.

See the hall your way

Choose what you would like to play, then how much of the floor you need.

What are you setting up?
How much of the hall?

Plan of the sports hall A scale plan of the 36.5 by 21 metre sports hall, showing the selected layout and the part of the floor being hired. 1 2 3 4 SIDE A SIDE B 36.5 metres ← → 21 metres
  • Hall floor
  • Nets, goals and equipment
  • Not included in your hire

Book this See all rates

Our rates

What it costs

One rate, every hour we are open. No evening premium, no weekend premium: seven in the morning costs the same as nine at night.

Sports hall hire. Sport is charged without VAT; anything else adds VAT at 20%.
What you bookPer hour Per half hourWell suited to
One side
Half the hall, behind the curtain		 £32£18 Badminton, smaller squads, fitness classes, junior training
Both sides
The whole hall · 36.5m × 21m		 £54£27 Five-a-side, netball, cricket nets, parties, fairs and larger events
The hall splits into two sides A curtain divides it across the middle, and each side is booked separately. One side is half the hall at £32 an hour. Book Side A and Side B together and you have the whole 36.5 by 21 metres at £54 an hour.

The same price all day
Weekday or weekend, morning or evening, the rate does not change.

About VAT
Sport is charged without VAT. For anything that is not a sport-related activity, such as a party, a fair or a meeting, VAT is added at 20%.

One side or both
Each side is about two badminton courts. Book both for the full 36.5 by 21 metres.

Booking regularly
Book the same slot every week straight from the diary, as far ahead as it is open.

Work out your price

Choose the space, how long and what it is for. The total updates as you go.

How much of the hall?
For how long?
1 hour
How often?
Just once
What is it for?

Your price

£32

  • 1 hour, one side, at £32 an hour£32
  • VATNone for sport
Book it in the diary

Two worked examples. An hour of badminton on one side is £32, with nothing added. A two-hour birthday party in the whole hall is £108 plus VAT, so £129.60 altogether.

Booking

Book the hall

Our diary is live and open to everyone. Pick your time, pay by card, and the hall is yours.

Check availability and book

The diary below is live. Find a gap, click it, and the hall is yours.

  1. Find a gap

    Side A and Side B are the two halves of the hall. Book one for badminton or training, or both together when you want the whole floor.

  2. Click the space you want

    Fill in the short form: when, how long, and what you are planning. It takes a couple of minutes.

  3. Pay by card

    Your invoice comes through and you can settle it online there and then. No forms to post, no cheques.

Diary not loading? Open it in its own window. It works the same way.

Call 01284 754654 Email the Centre

Included in your hire

You need not bring the equipment

Nets, posts, hoops and goals are all here and included in the price. Do let us know what you will need when you book and it will be set out ready for your arrival.

In the hall

  • Four badminton courts with nets
  • Four basketball hoops, widthways
  • Four cricket nets with bowling carpets
  • Indoor football goals
  • Full-court netball
  • Mini tennis and volleyball

Changing rooms

Four rooms, two large enough for a full team and two for individuals, each with showers and toilets, and accessible toilets throughout.

Somewhere for parents to sit

The viewing balcony runs above the hall, which is where most families settle during junior sessions.

If your plans change

Changes and cancellations

We would much rather move your booking than lose it, so that the hall stays in use and available to the community.

  • More than 24 hours ahead: reschedule or cancel and the value is held as credit against any future date.
  • Within 24 hours: please telephone or email us. Half the booking charge will apply.
  • If we have to close the Centre: you will receive a full refund.

For a late change, do contact us directly on 01284 754654 or at sportshall@southlee.co.uk. The full terms of hire are here.

Questions

Before you book

May I set up a regular weekly slot?

Yes, and we would be glad to have you. Book the same slot every week straight from the diary, as far ahead as the diary is open.

Do I need my own insurance?

Yes. Everyone who hires the hall needs their own insurance to cover themselves and their activity. The Centre’s insurance does not cover hirers.

Is there parking?

Yes, free and directly outside. Turn off Nowton Road into the main car park and follow the road alongside the tennis courts.

Can the hall be used for something other than sport?

Certainly, and often it is. Do tell us what you have in mind and we will come back with a price.

May spectators watch?

Yes, there is a viewing balcony above the hall.

What about the gym?

The fitness centre is run separately by Sam Last of SGL Training. His page is here.

Gym & fitness

Our fitness centre, in Sam’s hands

The gym here at the Centre is run by Sam Last of SGL Training. Sam looks after the equipment, the classes and one-to-one training, for adults finding their way back to fitness and for young people building confidence.

  • Gym and personal training
  • Adults and young people
  • Free parking at the door
Book with SGL Training Call Sam on 07765 695049
The fitness centre, with free weights and benches on one side and a rowing machine, bikes and cross-trainers along the windows

Meet Sam

Sam Last, SGL Training

Sam runs the fitness centre at South Lee, offering specialist fitness classes and one-to-one personal training. His sessions focus on building strength, improving fitness and developing athletic performance, and they sit alongside everything else that happens in our hall.

Sam specialises in children’s confidence and is also a health and wellbeing coach for adults, so the work is as much about how people feel as how they perform. Pupils and adults alike are welcome, and nobody here minds where you are starting from.

See Sam’s availability 07765 695049

The fitness centre is used through Sam: book a session with him to train there. He books separately from our hall hire, through his own booking page, so you will not find the fitness centre in our hall diary.

What Sam offers

Three ways to train

One to one

Personal training

Individual sessions built around what you would like to achieve, whether that is strength, general fitness or performance in a particular sport.

In a group

Fitness classes

Sam’s specialist fitness classes are a friendly way to train alongside other people from the town.

Young people

Confidence & coaching

Sam specialises in helping children and young people build confidence and self-esteem through physical activity, as well as developing athletic ability.

A numbered locker in the changing rooms

The fitness centre

The room itself

Our fitness centre sits alongside the main sports hall, with the same free parking outside and the same changing rooms and showers.

  • Free weights, benches and racks
  • Treadmill, rowing machine, bikes and cross-trainers
  • Four changing rooms with showers
  • Accessible toilets throughout
  • Free parking at the door

Come and have a look round

Sam is happy to show anyone the fitness centre and talk through what would suit them. There is no obligation in it at all.

Book with SGL Training Call 07765 695049

Parties & private hire

The whole hall, and the run of it

Take the hall for the afternoon and fill it however you like. Thirty children can run about properly in a space this size, there is a balcony for the grown-ups to sit on, and you are not sharing it with anybody.

  • Room for thirty children and more
  • Bring your own entertainment
  • Free parking right outside
Check availability What you get

A party needs the whole hall, which means both sides. When you book, choose Side A and Side B for the same time and you will have the run of it.

A toddler running across the hall floor and laughing, with grown-ups chatting at the far side

Straightforwardly

What you are hiring

We hire you the hall. We do not run the party for you, and we would rather be honest about that than pretend otherwise, but a big empty hall turns out to be exactly what most people want.

Yours for the session

The space

The whole hall, all 36.5 by 21 metres of it, with nobody training on the other side of the curtain.

Included

What comes with it

The changing rooms and toilets, the viewing balcony for parents, and free parking immediately outside the door.

Bring your own

What you arrange

Entertainer, food and decorations are yours to organise, and the hall comes to you clear so you can lay it out however you like. Need tables and chairs? Ask when you book and we will see what we can do.

The empty sports hall, its floor marked out for several sports
A boy drawing a bow at an archery target in the hall
See the hall plan and rates

What it costs

Party hire

The figures below are what you pay in total, VAT included.

Parties take the whole hall We do not split the hall for a birthday party, so the floor is yours and nobody is training on the other side of a curtain. That is £54 an hour at any time of day. A party is not a sport-related hire, so VAT is added at 20%, and the figure below already includes it.
Two hours

The whole hall

£129.60 Two hours, inc VAT

  • All 36.5 by 21 metres to yourselves
  • Thirty children with room to spare
  • Changing rooms, toilets and the viewing balcony
  • Book an extra half hour if you need to set up
  • Space for an inflatable if you are bringing one
Check availability
Three hours

A longer afternoon

£194.40 Three hours, inc VAT

  • The same hall, an hour longer
  • Time to set up, run about and clear away
  • Worth it once the entertainer needs setting up
  • Any length you like, charged by the hour
  • Half hours are fine too
Check availability

That is £108 and £162 before VAT. Any other length is charged at the same £54 an hour. See the full rate card.

Practical matters

Before you book

May we bring an inflatable or an entertainer?

Yes. Do tell us what is coming when you book, so we know what to expect on the day. Entertainers and inflatable companies need their own insurance.

Do we need our own insurance?

Yes. Everyone who hires the hall, for a party as for anything else, needs their own insurance to cover themselves. The Centre’s insurance does not cover hirers.

Can we bring our own food?

Yes. We do not provide food or drink, so bring whatever you would like for the party.

Where do parents wait?

There is a viewing balcony above the hall, which is where most parents settle while the party goes on below.

How long do we get to set up?

Include the time you need to set up and clear away in your booking. It is charged as ordinary hire and can be added by the half hour.

What if we need to move the date?

More than 24 hours ahead you may reschedule and hold the value as credit. Within 24 hours, half the charge applies. Do telephone us if you are in difficulty.

Shall we put a date in?

Have a look at the diary for a free Saturday, or telephone us and we will talk it through.

Check availability Call 01284 754654
The South Lee Prep School and Nursery crest

Part of the South Lee family

The Sports Centre stands on the South Lee Prep School & Nursery site on Nowton Road, and is looked after by the school on behalf of the town. We are delighted to share it with the community around us, and everyone is welcome here.

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