Cornwall Council's closure of leisure centre challenged

The large glass building of the Ships and Castles Leisure Centre overlooks the harbour at Falmouth

Cornwall Council's cabinet may have to reconsider its decision to close a leisure centre in Falmouth after local councillors challenged the process.

An extraordinary committee meeting will be held next week after Labour councillors in Falmouth "called-in" the decision to close Ships and Castles.

The centre is the only one in Cornwall which is set to close at the end of March.

Its operators, GLL, said they could no longer afford to run it.

Labour councillors Laurie Magowan and Jayne Kirkham have called-in the decision which means it will have to be reconsidered by councillors.

As a result the Customer and Support Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Supporters of the Falmouth leisure centre previously said they were "gutted" at recommendations to close it

Ms Magowan said: "We decided to call-in the decision made by cabinet because we felt the negative impacts on the community were not fully considered, with the closure of Ships and Castles, discriminating against people in our communities who won't be able to access alternative swimming pools.

"The decision also goes against several of Cornwall Council's own ambitions to improve health, wellbeing and the environment."

The call-in is the first to be made during the current administration - there had been no successful call-ins under the last administration.

The Falmouth centre was originally one of five facilities under threat of closure but it was the only one that Cornwall Council's cabinet said should close next week.

Concerns about the impact on schoolchildren, families and long-term users of the leisure centre were raised at a cabinet meeting on 4 March.

Councillor Richard Pears, portfolio holder for leisure, told the meeting two organisations had bid to take over Ships and Castles, but neither were "economically viable".

Ms Kirkham added while the call-in may not prevent the closure of Ships and Castles, it was an important step to "ensure transparency and accountability are maintained".