Spiralling costs force permanent closure of Somerset sports centre

31 Jan 2023
Somersetlive

Cash strapped council chiefs have announced the permanent closure of Churchill Sports Centre - saying don't have the money to keep it open. The sports centre, on a site shared by Churchill Academy and Sixth Form, has been shut since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Operators GLL used to run the building - owned by North Somerset Council - but when the contract ended, the centre remained closed. A working group made up of volunteers, local councillors and North Somerset officers was set up to seek a solution to re-open the centre but to no avail - leaving thousands of residents without access to local swimming and fitness facilities.

The local population has also swelled in the last couple of years due to housing developments in surrounding villages. Some residents say they have waited a year for their children to be able to get swimming lessons elsewhere while others say the lack of local sports facilities is impacting the wellbeing of the local community.

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Now North Somerset Council has made the decision to close the sporting complex permanently. It says the centre previously cost more than £100,000 a year in management fees and running costs - which would now be ‘considerably higher’ due to inflationary pressures, the rise in energy prices and the slow recovery of the gym market post-pandemic.

A North Somerset Council spokesman said: “Despite efforts to secure a future for Churchill Sports Centre, a decision not to reopen the centre has now been made by North Somerset Council. The leisure service has been closed since March 2020, the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In that time, almost three years, the council has worked with the local community and other partners to investigate all possible funding options to subsidise the facility for it to have a viable future. Following a further period of consultation that ended in October 2022, no funding has been found to reinstate services.”

The sports pitches and sports hall, which are operated by Churchill Academy, will remain available for community use. North Somerset Council executive member for neighbourhoods and community services Councillor Mike Solomon said: “Churchill Sports Centre has been subject to prolonged and extensive engagement with our executive, local ward members, parish councils in the area and local stakeholders.

"I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Churchill Sports Centre Working Group, ward members and council officers who have worked hard to explore all options. Despite all this hard work, no-one has been able to find the money necessary to reinstate services and to keep the centre running.

"Regrettably, we’ve now been left with no alternative but to confirm that it will not reopen.” No redundancies are associated with the decision and there is no operator contract to negotiate.

The sports centre has a pool, numerous indoor sports courts and a gym, as well as outdoor sports courts. North Somerset has six leisure centres across the district - Hutton Moor in Weston, Scotch Horn in Nailsea, Parish Wharf in Portishead , Backwell, Strode in Clevedon and Churchill

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