Locals have spoken out over the “devastating” prospect of beloved leisure centres in Gateshead being closed down.
At least two council -run centres are expected to be shut as civic centre bosses battle a budget crisis. The thought of losing critical facilities used by hundreds of thousands of people every year, with the Dunston Leisure Centre and the Gateshead Leisure Centre in Saltwell the two at greatest risk, has sparked warnings that the move could have serious long-term health impacts for communities.
Mark Nicholson, a daily user of the Saltwell centre that first opened in 1941 as Shipcote Swimming Baths, said it would be “devastating if it were to close”. The 37-year-old told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “ I use it pretty much every day and, for us, it is really important. Even though the council says it will keep some centres open, the next one for us would be 2.5 miles away.
