Council to be grilled by public on proposals to shut four leisure centres in Cornwall
Questions have been submitted ahead of the meeting on Wednesday
Last updated 10th Nov 2021
Cornwall Council’s Cabinet will be grilled by the public on the proposed closure of leisure centres in Cornwall when they meet today (Wednesday).
The council is currently considering a new leisure strategy which has been drawn up after leisure centre operator GLL indicated that it could no longer run five facilities.
As a result the council is considering the closure of Ships & Castles in Falmouth; Launceston, Saltash and Wadebridge leisure centres and the hydrotherapy pool in St Austell.
The threat of closure has resulted in community groups and town councils calling on Cornwall Council to keep the centres open.
However the council has said that leisure services are not a statutory service and it has no funding available to subsidise the threatened facilities. It says that it is open to alternative ways of keeping them open such as passing them over to a community group or trust.
Under the council's proposed leisure strategy it has stated that it wants residents to live within a 30-minute drive of leisure centres and swimming facilities.
Campaigners have highlighted that not only will the loss of facilities impact on people's health and wellbeing but could also leave children being unable to access swimming lessons and leave lifeguards unable to train during the winter.
A final decision on the fate of the centres is expected to be taken by the Cabinet when it meets on December 8th, just a day after the council’s customer and support services overview and scrutiny committee will consider the matter.
Ahead of those meetings the Cabinet is due to meet today (Wednesday) and members of the public have taken the opportunity to pose questions about the future of leisure services.
What questions will the council face?
A total of 17 questions are listed under the item for public questions and each one relates to leisure centres, their future and the consultation that the council carried out about the service.
The first question comes from Mr A Roads from Wadebridge who links the potential closure of the leisure centres with the council’s declaration of a climate emergency.
He asks: "After a successful COP26 for the Conservatives are you really going to approve a Cornwall policy which increases car journeys and our carbon footprints? Use capital budget to add ground source heat pumps for the pools, then they will be sustainable and be able to be community operated without subsidy?"
Next is Mr T Leach from Wadebridge who will ask: "The public consultation has finished. The results are in. No doubt you will receive a clear message and recommendation that Leisure Centres should stay open at all costs. Do you appreciate that this whole consultation process would have been a complete farce if you don’t act on these clear recommendations?"
A later question from Ms C Viqueira from Egloshayle asks what the council's approach would be if GLL says it wants to dispose of other “unviable” centres.
And Mrs E Pate from Wadebridge asks: "Please can Members of the Cabinet explain how closing down leisure centres in Cornwall will improve the wellbeing of the people in the County and therefore reduce the queue of ambulances currently outside Treliske Hospital?"
Several of the questioners ask about how people will access services and concerns about the extra travel which will be needed if the centres close.
Ms S Martin from Saltash will ask the Cabinet: "Isn’t the decision to threaten to close four centres and STILL not fund leisure services AT ALL very short-sighted and disingenuous – especially considering how other local authorities around the country subsidise their leisure services in order for communities to get equality of access to health and fitness opportunities?"
The Cabinet is due to meet at 10am today at County Hall in Truro. The meeting will be webcast live on Cornwall Council's website.