Leisure centre petition to be debated by council

The petition claims the school could end up having to find £850,000 a year if public use is to continue

The future of a leisure centre is to be debated by Dorset Council after a petition to save it gained 7,000 signatures.

Queen Elizabeth Leisure Centre in Wimborne closed to the public on 31 March after the former Conservative-controlled council withdrew funding.

The centre's owner, QE School Foundation Trust, has allowed community groups to continue running public sessions, paying to hire the facilities.

The petition claims the school could end up having to find £850,000 a year if public use is to continue, assuming a £296,000 government grant ends next year.

Following a public consultation launched in 2021, the council decided to withdraw its £500,000 annual subsidy from the end of March 2024.

It offered up to £150,000 towards the replacement of an all-weather pitch.

The petition will be presented to the full council on Thursday by campaigner Steve Parlour, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He will have three minutes to speak before the council debates the issue for no more than 15 minutes.