Cornwall Council cabinet to decide leisure centres' fate

Protestors gathered outside County Hall on Tuesday

The future of under-threat leisure facilities will rest with Cornwall Council's cabinet after a bid to have the whole council decide was rejected.

Calls for the closures to be voted on by all councillors were turned down 42 to 34 in a vote on Tuesday.

Leisure operator GLL said it could no longer afford to run sites in five locations without financial help.

People gathered outside County Hall in Truro on Tuesday ahead of the meeting to protest about the closure threat.

A petition by independent councillors gathered more than 5,000 signatures, but the council has said it has no budget for leisure services.

Of the 12 Cornwall Council leisure centres, four are under threat: Falmouth, Launceston, Saltash and Wadebridge.

A hydrotherapy pool in St Austell is also at risk.

Campaigners trying to save the sites said they were vital for health and wellbeing, as well as providing facilities for children to learn to swim.

Supporters of Wadebridge's leisure centre were among those protesting

The petition called for the closures to be voted on by a full meeting for all 87 councillors, but the item on the meeting agenda detailed that, by law, it must be a decision by the authority's executive of 10.

The council said it was open to working with community groups or other operators interested in taking the facilities over, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The results of a public consultation are being analysed and a report on the future of the sites at risk is expected to be discussed by the council's customer and support services overview committee on 7 December.

This could lead to a recommendation being made to the cabinet, which is expected to make a final decision on 15 December.