Over £15,000 raised to help at risk sports centre

Groups like Cleobury Mortimer Volleyball Club have said they would be without a home if the leisure centre closes

More than £15,000 has been raised in just under a month to keep a leisure centre open until April.

The centre in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, had been set to close at the end of the year after Teme Leisure, which has run it since 2008, announced plans to hand the contract back to Shropshire Council.

The company said it has been forced to do so after the council withdrew an annual grant of £23,500 in March.

The Friends of Cleobury Sports Centre group formed last month and launched a campaign to keep it open, adding it hopes the money will buy time for a solution to be found to secure the facility's future.

The group said Teme Leisure had committed £40,000 for the financial year, which combined with the £15,000 raised would "see the Sports Centre fully deficit funded until the end of March".

It also added it was working behind-the-scenes on a partnership it hoped would meet the future funding gap until August 2027.

In a post on Facebook, it said the committee had been "blown away" by the support it had received.

The money was raised through fundraising events, collections and from donations from groups, including the local volleyball club which uses the centre.

The decision to cut the funding to the leisure centre was taken by the previous Conservative administration at Shropshire Council, but the Lib Dem group which replaced them has said it cannot spare the money either.

The authority declared a "financial emergency" last month and is looking for huge savings to avoid effectively becoming bankrupt.

Conversations have taken place between Teme Leisure, Shropshire Council, Cleobury Mortimer Town Council and the area's Conservative MP Stuart Anderson in a bid to find a short-term funding solution so that the leisure centre can remain open.