The people of Gateshead will be given more time to have their say on “terrifying” leisure centre closures, after campaigners pleaded with locals to make their voice heard before it is too late.
At least two council-run centres could be shut down next year in a bid to save money, with the Gateshead Leisure Centre and Dunston Leisure Centre having been identified as those at highest risk. Amid an outcry over the potentially devastating health impacts the closures could have on already deprived communities, more than 4,500 people have already told Gateshead Council how they feel about the plans.
And local authority chiefs have now confirmed that a consultation on the budget-cutting proposals will be extended by a week, until December 20, before a decision on the services’ future is made in January. It comes after campaigners from the Save Leisure Gateshead group demanded more time and claimed that the threat to the centres “has not been communicated effectively” to marginalised groups.
Read More: Locals warn of health worries if Gateshead leisure centres aren't saved from 'devastating' closure
One user of the Gateshead Leisure Centre in Saltwell said she had “no idea” about its closure until being told by activists on Tuesday and was “absolutely gutted” at the prospect of losing a facility she visits around four times a week. Kirsten Bennett, aged 23, added: “I am really shocked and saddened that they are thinking of closing it.”
The cash-strapped council has deemed its leisure offer “unaffordable” with the services due to overspend their budget by more than £2m this year, at a time when local authority finance chiefs are grappling with an expected £55m financial black hole over the next five years. It has been argued that Gateshead Leisure Centre will need more than £9m of repairs over the next decade and £684,000 of council cash to prop it up in the current financial year, while Dunston needs £1.3m for maintenance and £557,000 worth of subsidy. The sports hall at Birtley Leisure Centre to be one of the least sustainable facilities and may also be at risk.
The Save Leisure Gateshead campaign group has won the backing of Gateshead FC, Durham Cricket Club director Marcus North, and local GPs. Dr Paul Evans, Chair, Gateshead and South Tyneside Local Medical Committee warned the closures would mean “further increases in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, long-term sickness and deaths.”
Local resident Lizzy Haskins added: “The impact the closure will have on the local community is frankly terrifying - there are members who simply won‘t be able to access alternative ways to exercise for a multitude of reasons; some because they are unable to travel further afield, some because they can’t afford payments for private memberships. Those people will lose a vital lifeline.”
The campaign group has called on the council to “explore all avenues to make the centre financially viable and keep it open”.
A council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The aim of the consultation is to provide the council insight into the impact the potential closures will have on residents and communities which use leisure facilities across the borough and will also provide us with data that desk based exercises cannot.
“Our in-person consultation sessions were well attended and the online consultation sessions have been completed by over 4500 stakeholders. In addition to the publicly advertised consultations a series of focused engagement sessions have taken place with groups including swimming groups, schools and representatives from the Jewish community. A further 650 printed consultation surveys have been provided to our communities.
“We want to provide all residents the opportunity to share the impact of the potential closures will have on them, the consultation has been sent via email to 21,000 members of whom we hold a valid email for. Members are encouraged to check their junk email or with the leisure centres that they have the correct email on file.
“Any residents who require the consultation in another format, e.g. large text or another language, can use the council website which is fully accessible through the 'listen and translate functionality'. They can also contact us direct.
"Information of the consultation will be included in the Winter edition of Council News Magazine which will be distributed to nearly every household in the borough from December 5. In case of delayed distribution, the council has confirmed the consultation closing date has now been extended to December 20, 2022. Once closed the result of the consultation will be fully analysed and a report submitted to cabinet at the end of January.”
The consultation is available online here.
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