Cornwall Council 'working to find leisure centre operators'

The leisure centres in Falmouth and Wadebridge remain at risk

Cornwall Council is continuing to work with potential operators for two leisure centres under threat of closure, a meeting has heard.

Operator GLL had told the council it could no longer run four leisure centres without financial help.

But it is now going to continue running Saltash and the council is funding the centre in Launceston.

Centres in Falmouth and Wadebridge remain at risk, but the council said it hopes to "find a way forward".

A scrutiny committee heard from the council there had been several expressions of interest from organisations who would like to run the Falmouth and Wadebridge centres and work was continuing with them.

Pool at risk

GLL has decided to continue operating Saltash Leisure Centre, while the council has agreed to provide funding to allow Launceston Leisure Centre to operate until January 2023, when its lease for the centre ends.

The reprieve would allow owners to find an alternative provider, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Richard Pears, cabinet member responsible for leisure, told the council's customer and support services overview and scrutiny committee that, while they were still under threat of closure in March, he hoped they could "find a way forward".

The hydrotherapy pool in St Austell, which has been closed for some time, was still at risk of permanent closure, but Mr Pears said work was also continuing to keep it open.

He said: "We are investigating operations with alternative providers, and we are also investigating potential funding streams from the NHS and other organisations [for the medical pool]."