Councillor questions future of two leisure centres

A councillor has raised concerns Chester-le-Street leisure centre could eventually be closed

The future of two leisure centres has been questioned by a councillor after their repair budget was slashed by £3m.

Durham County Council is set to cut the money from its Unprogrammed Leisure Transformation Budget (ULTB), which is used to fund repairs and improvements at Chester-le-Street and Seaham leisure centres.

Phil Heaviside, Independent councillor for Lumley, claimed the funding cuts suggested the Reform UK-led council may close the two sites.

Joe Quinn, cabinet member for planning, investments, and assets, said the council would ensure any urgent repairs needed to keep the centres open would be made.

After reducing the ULTB, the council said it would allocate any additional funds needed for repair work from its separate Capitalised Repairs and Maintenance Budget (CRMB), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But Heaviside said he was concerned because the funding pot was already "overcommitted".

"The Capitalised Repairs and Maintenance Budget has just over £15m for the next two years, and is already committed to spending £17.2m," he said, at a cabinet meeting.

"Why has potential investment for future works been reduced from £5m to £2m for both Chester-le-Street and Seaham leisure centres combined, given the capitalised and maintenance repairs budget is already limited?"

Reform councillor Joe Quinn said essential repairs to the two centres would be carried out

Quinn said since Reform took control of the council in May and "difficult choices have had to be made".

"It is true the CRMB is limited but we will prioritise allocations to augment the £2m budget that has been retained and ensure that any urgent repairs that are needed to these facilities [are carried out] to keep them open," he said.

The local authority revealed plans to build new sites in Chester-le-Street and Seaham in 2020, but last year warned the project would be too costly.