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Cricklade lesiure secures £60,000 lifeline

11:50am Tuesday 6th March 2007

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North Wiltshire District Council has made a decision on the future of Cricklade Leisure Centre and will hand over £60,000 to help run it.

Minutes ago councillors concluded a private meeting of the executive committee where the community-led business plan, prepared by the Keep Leisure in Cricklade action group, was assessed.

A council spokesperson said: "We have decided to give the Cricklade community group £60,000, subject to contractual negotiations, to help with the independent running of the centre.

Chairman of the campaign group, Gary Walker, said: "This is great news. Our future would have been broken if the council had not agreed to give us the £60,000 funding.

"We sit down together on Thursday and discuss the detail. This money will help us keep the centre running which the people of Cricklade will be happy about. It's very good news.

"The future has opened up now and we can start looking at what we do towards the end of the year. Our intention is to rebuild the centre.

"That's what our grand aim is and we'll fight to make it happen."

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Alan, North Wiltshire says...
1:30pm Tue 6 Mar 07

A waste of public money. North Wiltshire District Council should focus on getting their basic services right before subsiding under-used facilities.

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Dave, chippenham says...
1:39pm Tue 6 Mar 07

Well Alan maybe people in North Wiltshire should get off the sofa and use these facilities, you no its for your own good. Maybe the local NHS services would benefit if more people were more active!!!!!

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Alan, North Wiltshire says...
3:25pm Tue 6 Mar 07

Sounds a bit nanny-stateish to me Dave. If there was a market for this facility it wouldn't require public subsidy.

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Dave, chippenham says...
10:44pm Tue 6 Mar 07

Thats right alan (partridge?), lifes all about money, money, money. Its a good cause and your a lost cause.

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Sarah of Cricklade, says...
1:06pm Wed 7 Mar 07

I strongly agree with the comments on here so far. A total waste of money. The leisure centre is only busy on Saturday afternoons in the winter for the childrens football, it's hardly used at all. Even since this whole Save the Leisure Centre thing has started I've not noticed an increase in use. I have no idea how these people think they are going to manage the Leisure Centre and improve it and get more people along to use it. It's a dump, I should know I live close to it. I have never supported the "Save" campaign. KLIC = Cloud Cuckoo Land.

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Vicki Mayers, Cricklade says...
12:17pm Mon 12 Mar 07

I take it you'd rather have seen the £60,000 spent on boarding it up, which is what would have happened, and watching the druggies and vandals make it into a very unsafe place to be. How nice for a lovely community like Cricklade. What would that do for your house prices, those of you that live close by?

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Gary Walker, Cricklade says...
2:20pm Mon 12 Mar 07

I dont make a habit of responding to ill informed people and those with a negative attitude as it is generally unconstructive, however, If NWDC were to close the Leisure Centre then the fisrt year costs would be in the region of £120k and it would result in 7 full time employee's losing their jobs and a further 10 or more part time casual jobs. Now, a number of people who care about Cricklade and its youth in particular, have got off their backsides in an attempt to make it pay and save YOU money, perhaps you should support it at or least put together an informed constructive argument against it.

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It Does Birthday Parties Too, ! says...
3:48pm Mon 12 Mar 07

Stumbled across this whole 'save the leisure centre' campaign whilst trying not to do an essay. I grew up in Cricklade and I can see why people may be indifferent towards the cause - especially as some would argue that "the druggies and vandals" already do make it an "unsafe place to be" Vicky. However I fail to see how people are directly opposed to it now that they have secured funding - does anyone really believe the £60,000 could, or would, have been spent in an alternative way that benefits so many people. Playing for Cricklade boys football pretty much sums up a large part of my childhood (as I'm sure it does for many others) and obviously the Leisure Centre was integral to that. Its pool may be dangerously chlorinated and the people trying to save it may be primarily motivated by it being the closest pub to their houses but if they've already got the funding then I fail to see the negatives of keeping it open.

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