Administrators of a former leisure centre say building homes on the site cannot be ruled out - as an MP fights to get the facility reopened.

Folkestone Sports Centre shut suddenly at the end of July, causing 144 job losses as the charity which ran it said it could no longer afford to remain operational.

Documents published by Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) show there are a number of restrictive covenants on the land in Radnor Park Avenue, namely that it is used for recreational purposes only.

But Opus Restructuring and Insolvency, which was appointed as joint administrators of Folkestone Sports Centre Trust, is not ruling out properties being built on the site, though it stresses no developer has come forward yet.

It comes as new Labour MP Tony Vaughan, who defeated Conservative incumbent Damian Collins at last month’s general election, says he is "pulling out all the stops" to reopen the facility.

Developers can apply for restrictive covenants, which forbid developments happening on land, to be removed.

In this case, Lord Radnor of Folkestone donated the site to the trust for recreational use only, and the facility opened in 1972.

But Nick Hood, a senior adviser at Opus, says the company will have to take the best offer, which could mean the site falls into the hands of developers.

Asked if the site could become homes, he said: "I can certainly confirm we're not allowed to rule it out under our statutory duties but it's not our priority, it's just something that we may have to consider if there is no better offer from an operator.

“Everybody that's approached so far has expressed an interest in reopening the site.

“But, as the appointed administrators, we have a legal obligation to take the best offer. It may not necessarily be the highest offer, but certainly the best offer.

“It's a conundrum we face, and we fully understand that this is of huge interest to the community. This centre's been there for 50 years, it plays a huge role in the health and wellbeing of an awful lot of people in and around Folkestone.

“But if we arrive at a point where the highest offer and the best offer is from a developer, then these covenants and legal opinion will come into play.”

Mr Hood says his team are continuing to maintain the pool at the facility, which also included a gym, cafe and even ski and toboggan slopes.

He says his firm had “immediate interest” in the centre from potential operators, but stressed “we're nowhere near far enough along to have any clear idea about what the outcome is going to be”.

“If we can't find a buyer to operate the site, but we can't sell it to a developer, then one way or another, that's not an outcome that anybody wants because we don’t want a derelict site sitting there not doing anything,” he added.

“The perfect answer would be if we had several interested parties and we ended up with a bidding war. But we're not there yet, and we don't know how that will play out.

“As the agents get on with the marketing, we may get interest from much further afield and if we get developer interest, it'll be part of the mix.

“Whether we progress that interest will depend on the price they're offering and the shape of the deal, and it's sometimes not just about money, there can be all sorts of other factors coming into it.

“If we arrive at a point where we have no bidders and the site has to remain closed and unused, well, that's another process altogether.

“Hypothetically, a developer might be prepared to take the risk of getting those covenants lifted but we're a long way away from that.

“But nobody should hold us to this because selling something as complex as this is not straightforward.”

More than 8,000 people have now signed a petition calling on Green-led FHDC to "save" the centre.

And Mr Vaughan, who represents Folkestone and Hythe, says he understands “how desperate local people are to keep it open”.

"I've been pulling out all the stops to make sure that we can reopen the sports centre," he said.

"There have been various operators who my office is in touch with and we are hoping soon to see the financials that relate to the sports centre, and really that's going to determine what is going to be a viable plan for anyone to take over.

"But the idea they could turn that site into flats rather than a sports centre is just shocking so that is why I'm doing everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen.

Mr Vaughan says he is “very much in the hands of the administrators at this point”.

"If anyone was trying to turn it into homes, we'd be fighting tooth and nail to make that as difficult as possible because it's just not in local people's interests and so there's going to be one hell of a fight if somebody thinks that they can try and do that,” he added.

"Legally and politically, within the community, it just can't be an option and any developer that thinks that that is going to be what happens is not engaging with the reality here and the importance of that place for local people."

In a statement, FHDC said “it is keen to see leisure activities reopen on the Folkestone site as soon as possible”.

“We have not made any decision to bid for or purchase the site and there is no budget or plans to operate a leisure centre in Folkestone,” the spokeswoman said.

“We very much hope that a business with experience of running sports and leisure centres will come forward to take on the site and provide these much needed and valued facilities for residents.

“We understand that the existing covenant issues would be a matter for the administrator and the Radnor Estate with the council wanting to see these enforced.”