Battersea Sports Centre will remain open until the end of 2016, Wandsworth Council has confirmed.

The sports centre will be knocked down to make way for a new social housing development, a decision taken by councillors in February 2015, which will see five full-time and nine casual staff members redundant.

October 27: More than 1,000 people join call to back Battersea Sports Centre

February 2015: Councillors agree to close Battersea Sports Centre as battle lines drawn between Tories and Labour

December 2014: Council to close Battersea Sports Centre to make way for affordable housing

At the time, it was stated that the centre would close in Spring 2016.

Wandsworth Council has now confirmed that the centre will be open for the whole of 2016, as there are no plans to demolish it without replacement sports facilities in Falcon Park.

A 3G pitch was approved by councillors in November last year, in the Battersea park, which is likely to directly replace an existing marked out pitch in the middle of the park.

Leader councillor Ravi Govindia said: "It has always been our intention to keep the old sports centre open until our brand new community sports pitch and changing facilities are completed in Falcon Park.

"Once this is ready in 2017 we can then begin to build around 90 new social rent homes at the Hope Street site which is a vital first step in the regeneration of the Winstanley and York Road estates.

"Later on in the regeneration programme we will build a much bigger and better sports and leisure centre which will be a vast improvement on Battersea’s existing sporting facilities."