Anger at closure of leisure centres (From This Is Wiltshire)

Anger at closure of leisure centres

9:00am Saturday 25th November 2006

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CRICKLADE and Wootton Bassett leisure centres are to close, leaving sports clubs stranded.

North Wiltshire District Council has agreed to close the two centres, as well as a third in Calne.

They will remain mothballed while consultants try to work out a way forward.

Operator North Wiltshire Leisure Limited is due to submit a proposed recovery plan to the council by the end of December - but there is no more taxpayers' money coming in to cover its operations.

North Wiltshire Leisure is an independent company set up by the council to run the centres.

The closure means Wootton Bassett will lose the use of its swimming pool, sports hall and squash courts.

In Cricklade the gym, arts studio and tennis courts will be out of action.

The rising cost of the upkeep of the pools at the two centres has been blamed for the closure.

Wootton Bassett Otters amateur swimming club chairman Tim Magness said that without a home pool, the 330-strong group's future was "pretty bleak".

"Without a pool I don't know how the club can continue," he said.

Mr Magness said that the club was always looking for more hours in the pool, which it would pay for, but the council had knocked it back because the facility needed dedicated hours open to the public.

He said that the club had not been given the chance to bid for more hours, something that could have improved the centre's financial performance.

North Wiltshire District Council lead member for healthy lifestyles Coun Dianne Moore said the pools were costing "thousands and thousands" to run each year.

"The cost of running swimming pools have gone through the roof," she said.

"We really do not want to give up on those centres."

She said the council was in discussions with a private group to take over one of the centres but she would not say which town was involved yet.

The council will continue looking for private or other operators to take over the pools and centres, she added.

Coun Moore said one of the problems was that the centres were fighting against more private competition than when they were put into a trust eight years ago.

She said the closing date had not yet been set by operator North Wiltshire Leisure Ltd.

Wootton Bassett town and North Wilts district councillor Chris Wannell hit out at the decision, saying it would rob people of a valued community asset.

The centre is is used by children from 11 schools and hundreds of residents in the town.

He said he expected the pools to close by Christmas and be mothballed until March.

He doubted an operator could be found in that short time and said he expected the leisure centres to close permanently.

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