SHIPS and Castles wil definitely close tomorrow after a last minute bid to get the decision changed was rejectd.

At an extraordinary meeting of the cabinet this afternoon members voted to endorse the original decision to close the leisure centre on March 31.

FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW

Labour councillors Laurie Magowan and Jayne Kirkham successfully called-in the decision by cabinet members to close Falmouth's Ships and Castles Leisure Centre on March 31 which meant that it had to be reconsidered by an emergency committee on Monday.

The customer and support services overview and scrutiny committee referred the decision back to cabinet which met at 3pm this afternoon.

Cabinet member Richard Pears told the committee that the figures provided by the bidders to run the centre still did not meet the council's criteria and its decision would not be changed.

 "Nobody wants to be faced with a decision to close a leisure centre," he said. "That's certainly not why I came here. It's absolutely right that such a decision should come under the appropriate scrutiny so that members of the public can have confidence in the cabinet's decisions. It is part of the process and I have no issue with that.

The cabinet considered three recommendations: either to refer the decisions relating to Ships and Castles Leisure Centre on March 4 back to the cabinet or Cornwall Council for further consideration or take no further action.

The scrutiny committee unanimously asked the cabinet to re-consider their decision to close Ships and Castles, particularly bearing the following in mind:

"a) The cost of closure and security

"b) The impact on the old, the young and the disabled

"c) The environmental, social and economic impact of the decision, including the potential for partnership working between the bidders and the availability of alternative funding schemes.

The council said it undertook an initial appraisal of bids to run Ships and Castles by two bidders including Pendennis Leisure but said it was clear from that analysis that all of the bids received for Ships and Castles Leisure Centre exceeded the approved revenue budget position.

They therefore decided that it was not economically viable to the council to keep the centre open and it was not possible to enter into negotiations with the bidders.

Concerns about the impact on school children, families and long term users of the leisure centre were raised at a heated Cabinet meeting on March 4. Members of the public were angered by the lack of answers to a number of questions relating to residents of Falmouth and Penryn having no access to a public swimming pool.