The closure of Ships and Castles Leisure Centre follows a hard fought battle by the local community to save it.

Despite the best efforts of all those people and bodies to keep it open, the site will close on March 31.

There is understandable anger from people who attended the meeting and felt that it was a stitch up with their views being ignored and their questions unanswered.

The suspicion is that Conservative led cabinet had already made its decision to side with its officers recommendations despite opposition from across all parties, including their own and their own MP.

Not quite sure how Cherilyn Mackrory MP will be feeling about her chances in the next general election now, with an already very strong challenge in the area from Labour.

However, did this play into their thinking behind the closure? Bearing in mind this it is a Labour run town council, are they calculating into it the fact that they will probably lose their own MP at the next general election?

Who knows? But it is a surprise though and something that will come up on the doorstep again and again, unless Mrs Mackrory can get Michael Gove onside to release some of the millions of pounds apparently on offer to level the country up and create an alternative to Ships and Castles.

The next step though is to protect the headland!