Cornwall Green Party oppose leisure centre closures

Five leisure facilities are currently at risk of closure – leisure centres in Falmouth, Launceston, Saltash and Wadebridge and the hydrotherapy pool in St Austell – after operator GLL said it could no longer afford to run them. If the closures go ahead they could start as early as next year.

GLL has a contract to provide leisure facilities in Cornwall but has been hit hard by the covid lockdown and was asked by Cornwall Council to identify services which were not viable.

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The council has been consulting the public about its leisure strategy which is based on residents being able to drive 30 minutes to access leisure services such as swimming pools.

However there have been protests about the possible closure of centres with communities coming together to save their centres.

Cornwall Council has insisted that it does not want to close centres but says that it has no money to provide a subsidy and says that alternative arrangements would have to be found, such as the centres being run by community groups.

The Cornish branch of the Green Party has now added its weight to calls for the centres to remain open.

Tamsyn Widdon, Green Cornwall councillor for Penryn, said: “After the running of these centres was subcontracted to a private company based in London, through an agreement that allowed this company to alter the terms of its contract at any time, these facilities are now under threat of being closed for good.

“Councils have been starved of government funding that should be there to support leisure provision, but closure of these centres does not sit well with assurances made by Conservative Party candidates at the recent local elections, at which they promised they would ‘work together with our local communities’ and ‘invest in a new future for our young people’.

“It’s absolutely clear from the public response to these proposals that local communities do not want to see their young people, or indeed older people, deprived of the opportunities that these leisure centres provide to enhance their physical and mental health. At a time when the NHS is on its knees, it’s never been more important to help people stay fit and healthy.

“Cornwall Council says that after these closures, people in Cornwall will still be able to access leisure centres ‘no more than half-an-hour’s drive from their homes’. But what about the many people who don’t have cars? Let alone the carbon emissions that would result from forcing people to drive round trips of up to 50 miles.

“Affordable and accessible sport and leisure facilities are crucial to the health and wellbeing of Cornwall’s people, and access to high quality leisure facilities should not be the preserve of the wealthy. Families in Falmouth and Penryn who are already struggling with housing and transport costs should not have to drive to Truro or Helston, and we must find a way to provide a pool that meets the needs of the local population, including schools.

“The community is pulling together under various groups in order to save Ships and Castles in Falmouth, but the stark reality is that as things stand it is unlikely to be a viable business, so government funding is vital.

“Cornwall Council should be acting as the glue that brings the various interested groups together to ensure the best outcome for residents, by delivering a high-quality public facility in collaboration with the various stakeholders. And it’s essential that decisions on Ships and Castles and the other centres are not taken in haste – stakeholder groups must be given the time they need to put together alternative proposals.”

Last week Falmouth Town Council called for Cornwall Council to rethink its plans and Truro and Falmouth MP Cherilyn Mackrory called on the council to delay the closure of Ships and Castles and criticised the leisure strategy as “unacceptable”.

A decision on the future of the centres is expected to be made when the Cabinet meets in December.