THREE years on from the glorious summer Olympics of London 2012, and there is little sign of much of a legacy when aspiring athletes turn up to train at Southampton Sports Centre.

With the World Championships taking place in Beijing next month, promising more golden glory for Team GB, thoughts have turned to the question of who will replace the likes of seasoned medal winners Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis.

Those inside the sport in Hampshire believe it is unlikely that any of the next generation of stars will be from Southampton.

The faded glory of the centre is as sad as it is frustrating.

Memories of former champions abound.

The era of coach Mike Smith, where top names like Roger Black (pictured below), Kriss Akabusi, Todd Bennett and, most recently, Iwan Thomas, would be seen using the facilities to prepare for elite world level competition are a thing of the past.

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Despite the facilities, Thomas was the last of that breed to decamp to Southampton to train, because of the pull of Smith.

With the veteran coach now in retirement, and the facilities ageing still further, there is little to attract anyone from outside the area to the sports centre.

Even those who do use it, mainly because of its location rather than what it offers, will struggle to thrive in such modest surroundings.

It no longer feels the kind of place that people with talent will gravitate towards, rather somewhere that people with talent will move away from to further their careers.

The chairman of the city's athletics club chairman has criticised its “appalling” sporting facilities, describing them as "a disgrace", and believes they are putting off the stars of the future.

Richie Pearson, of Southampton Athletics Club, admits there have been plans to refurbish the club for at least quarter of a century, and says cold and ageing buildings make the sports provision in the city the worst in the UK.

With the World Championships on the horizon, interest in sport is expected to be high and the athletics club is keen to capitalise.

But Mr Pearson believes a Southampton City Council review into the city’s pitches and buildings has stymied plans to apply for Sport England funding and secure badly-needed refurbishment.

He said: “We have a history of athletics in Southampton with people like Roger Black but it’s a disgrace really that things haven’t been done because all these athletes deserve facilities.

“The Portacabin has no running water and you have to go to a stop pipe and the toilets are becoming a disgrace.

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"I think it must be putting people off.

“We have a very strong case because in all my travels around in the UK I have never come across such appalling facilities as in Southampton.

“The facilities are getting worse but we are trying to get something done.

"It’s a long haul with the council really because at the moment they are doing a review of all the sports facilities in Southampton.

“Sport England insist on this being done before we can apply for funding and we hope to get the report at the end of this month.”

Daily Echo: Darren Campbell at Southampton Sports Centre

Olympic gold medal winning relay runner Darren Campbell, pictured above, visited the centre last year and admitted conditions were “really poor” and that it was “lacking in the most basic of facilities”.

The Daily Echo has previously revealed that a new clubhouse and stand at the athletics club could cost up to £1million and that owners Active Nation had considered selling some of the land to raise this money.

The proposal proved controversial and prompted residents and councillors to oppose the move over fears it could lead to further developments on the site.

A Southampton City Council spokesman insisted that the athletics club is free to apply to funding at any time but admitted completion of the the current review would strengthen its hand.

He said: “Southampton City Council has a number of pieces of work in train - an assessment of indoor facilities and an assessment of playing pitches.

“Both these projects benchmark provision against Sport England standards. The playing pitch work is currently out to tender for specialist consultants and the indoor work has just concluded.

“A wider consultation will start shortly on the outcomes of this work and following this consultation, a cabinet decision is likely to take place at the end of 2015.

“The athletics club are able to apply for funding in the meantime but the outcomes of the work that the council has commissioned are likely to make their bids stronger.

"The council has no plans at this time to sell land in the sports centre.”