Leicestershire outdoor centres' futures reviewed

The future of three outdoor activity centres for Leicestershire schoolchildren is being reviewed by council leaders.

The centres - Beaumanor Hall, Quorn Hall, and Aberglaslyn Hall, Wales - are used by schools for outdoor activities like camping, canoeing and climbing.

The authority said the buildings cost it more than £400,000 a year to subsidise.

It said it wanted to establish if they were still good value for money.

Ivan Ould, the county council's cabinet lead for children and young people's services, said that selling the buildings off was not the proposal at the moment.

He said they were hoping to consult with a "wide range of people" on the type of activities that should be offered.

Mr Ould said: "When those people have met and responded to us a number of proposals will be put forward."

'Value for money'

The council has said the number of visits to the three sites was falling year on year.

Tony Mulhearn, assistant director of children and young people's services at the county council said: "When these services were established back in the 1950s and '60s it was very much that the local authority was the provider of those services.

"What we need to do is to make sure that we're getting the best value for money from those services and that we're providing the best for young people and whether we're the people to do that or whether we commission the service."

The cabinet will debate at a meeting on 13 September about whether a 12-week consultation on the issue should go ahead.

The Conservative-led council is aiming to cut £79m from its budget over the next four years.