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.
