Council leader urges 'immediate' reopening of pool

QE Leisure Centre closed to the public in April

A council leader has urged a school trust to reopen its swimming pool immediately for community groups.

QE Leisure Centre in Wimborne closed to the public in April after Dorset Council withdrew its subsidy.

Council leader Nick Ireland said outdoor pitches were available to hire but the swimming pool, main hall and climbing wall were closed.

Initio Learning Trust, which owns the leisure centre says it did not have extra funds that "can - or should be diverted for community use."

Mr Ireland made his comments during a cabinet meeting where a review into the centre's closure was discussed.

The review backed the council's original decision to end its £500,000-a-year subsidy but recommended exploring other ways the pool could be made available.

In a statement the trust said it was "very disappointed" by the council's decision.

A spokesperson said: "We have made clear at every step of the way that we fully recognise the importance of community use of the facilities.

"However, as an academy trust, all of our funding must go to supporting the education of the children and young people in our care - we simply do not have additional funds that can - or should - be diverted for community use."

Mr Ireland tabled an amendment committing the council to work with Initio to ensure a reopened pool would be available to community groups and clubs.

He also urged Initio to reopen talks with leisure operators or investigate other models of leisure provision so the centre could reopen to the public.

The centre is based within Queen Elizabeth School

He said: "The solution for a resurrected public provision at Queen Elizabeth School Leisure Centre is out there and Dorset Council will provide reasonable officer time and support, and consider realistic, sustainable requests for joint funding if that is necessary to achieve the outcome we all want.

"The climbing club has effectively no venue, and the community clubs that used the pool have all been impacted to a significant extent and this is reflected in the equality impact assessment in the paper.

"There can be absolutely no doubt that an immediate reopening of the pool for community club use is essential."

The Dorset-based trust said: "We welcome the offer from Dorset Council of officer time and support to explore wider options, including consideration of joint funding to support any moves to bring facilities back into community use."

Mr Ireland announced a separate review of the county's council-funded leisure provision, saying most of its sports centre buildings were 40 to 50 years old.

He said: "Whilst refurbs are possible and certainly not being discounted, we need to also be much more ambitious.

"This administration campaigned on our belief that Dorset deserves better and investing more in the health of our population is a very important part of that."