Two Gateshead swimming clubs that faced disaster if their pool was shut down are “absolutely elated” with news that it is set to be saved – but another group is now fearing for its future instead.
Both the Gateshead and Whickham Swimming Club and the Gateshead Synchronised Swimming Club had warned that they would collapse if Dunston Leisure Centre was closed, as had been mooted under Gateshead Council budget cut plans. But it emerged this week that the local authority has had a change of heart and recommendations being put to the council’s Labour cabinet next week no longer have the Dunston Bank site on the chopping block.
That has come as a massive relief to the clubs based there, who made clear that the depth of Dunston’s pool and its ability to host galas made it critical to their survival. However, six miles south, the mood is quite different. Birtley Swimming Centre is now facing the prospect of closure on March 31 instead, alongside the Gateshead Leisure Centre, much to the shock of Birtley Amateur Swimming Club members.
