The people of Gateshead will have a second chance to have their say on controversial leisure centre closures.
Starting next week, council bosses are set to reopen a public consultation on plans that could see Gateshead Leisure Centre and Birtley Swimming Centre shut down due to budget cuts. A decision on the closures, which have sparked a public outcry, was due to be made in January, but councillors instead decided to grant the at-risk facilities a reprieve.
Gateshead Council has now confirmed that it will reopen its consultation on the proposals from next Tuesday, February 7, until May 8. The extra time has been granted to allow talks to continue over community asset transfers that could result in some leisure centres saved by taking them out of the council’s hands.
Read More: What comes next in Gateshead leisure centres saga after council presses pause on closure plans
Local authority leader Martin Gannon also pledged further consultation with users of Birtley Swimming Centre in particular, which had not initially been earmarked for closure in the council’s original plans and only discovered their site was under threat a few weeks ago. Birtley sports hall and Dunston Leisure Centre had originally been named alongside Gateshead Leisure Centre as those at greatest risk, but were taken off the chopping block.
The change of plans came after more than 7,000 people had their say in the first round of consultation, with widespread anger about the proposed closures. Major concerns have been raised about the impact that shutting leisure centres will have on people’s physical and mental health, while the existence of local swimming clubs and other groups has also been jeopardised.
A decision on the future of the borough’s leisure services is now expected to be made by the council’s cabinet in June.
Speaking after last month’s cabinet meeting, where furious local residents clashed with council decision-makers, Coun Gannon said: “I am committing nearly a million pounds to ensure that we have a rounded view of the impact potential closures will have on our residents. This will also provide additional time to ensure that community groups which have expressed an interest in running the leisure centres have a fair opportunity to present their business case.
“Closing leisure centres is a devastating decision to consider, I appreciate the impact that this will have on residents who frequently use these centres. But over Christmas we had 69 adults in hospital who could not be discharged because there wasn’t the support available for them to return to their homes and to me we must prioritise this area of spend with our limited budgets, in order to protect our most vulnerable residents. Over the last 12 years we have had a 56% reduction in our budget, we have to make these devastating decisions to protect the sustainability of the council.”
The council has had its annual budget cut by £179m since 2010 and faces a £20m budget gap next year. Coun Gannon has hinted that the closure of leisure centres could be delayed for a second time if a community asset transfer is close to completion, but warned that such support will not go in indefinitely.
The council says it cost up to £900,000 to keep the centres open for this extension period, having planned to shut the two at-risk centres on March 31. Coun Gannon said: “This has to have an end stop. We cannot keep on funding these services from reserves because it will have a consequence elsewhere.”
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