Closed Falmouth leisure centre and land sold for £1

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

A Cornish headland including a popular leisure centre is set to be sold to a town council for £1.

Ships and Castles Leisure Centre on Pendennis Headland in Falmouth closed earlier this year after former operator Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) said it could no longer afford to keep it open.

Cornwall Council previously said it would sell the site and land around it.

The council has now agreed to transfer both to Falmouth Town Council, which hopes to reopen the leisure centre.

The decision to transfer the freehold of the land for a token sum of £1 was approved unanimously by the Cornwall Council's cabinet on Wednesday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Ships and Castles closed earlier this year

Cornwall Council had previously said it would put any money from the sale of the site towards providing a new leisure facility for the town but there were fears that if the headland was sold then it would be redeveloped into housing or a luxury hotel.

As a result the town council, local Cornwall councillors and scores of local people teamed together to try to protect the headland and to takeover the leisure centre so that it might be reopened.

A community interest company was also set up by local people - Pendennis Leisure - which wanted to run the leisure centre.

Cornwall Council deputy leader David Harris said: "I have to say that at the end we have got to a very good solution here working with Falmouth Town Council."

He later added: "Teamwork gets things done."

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

Pendennis Leisure said on its Facebook page it was delighted with the decision but there was "still lots to do for us to realise the ambition of getting a pool back open".

The news was also welcomed by Truro and Falmouth MP Cherilyn Mackrory who had previously urged Cornwall Council to work with the town council to keep the leisure centre open.

She said: "This is an early Christmas present from Cornwall Council and is exactly what the community in Falmouth and Penryn have been asking for."