Opening times at Cheshire leisure centres could be cut

The council has launched a new consultation on the proposals

Leisure centres in Cheshire could have their opening hours cut and higher charges for non-residents under new plans.

Cheshire East Council has launched a consultation on proposals to save money on leisure services.

The authority said it needed to save at least £479,000, after already reducing costs by £1.3m.

The council had previously proposed closing four leisure centres but later scrapped consultations plans.

The new consultation includes suggestions such as reducing the opening hours of all leisure centres in the borough, introducing different prices for people who do not live in Cheshire East and changes to the concessionary scheme.

The consultation also said closing centres would be a last resort and if this were to happen, it would focus its investment into leisure services in areas where the health of residents was the poorest and the usage was highest.

Cheshire East currently pays a management fee to Everybody Health and Leisure for leisure centres but the council is responsible for paying the utility bills and maintenance costs.

'No decisions made'

These costs are set to be £4.23m in the current financial year, the council said.

The authority is currently forecasting an £18.7m shortfall in the current financial year.

Councillor Mick Warren, chairman of Cheshire East Council's environment and communities committee, said: "Leisure centres, because of the types of services they offer, are hugely expensive facilities to run and maintain and costs are rising drastically.

"We cannot afford to meet these costs."

He said that no decisions have yet been made about services or specific centres.

The public consultation ends in January.

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