Huncote Leisure Centre closure: Safety fence damaged

The closure has also affected a sports field and local footpaths

Fencing around a Leicestershire leisure centre closed over safety fears has been damaged, officials have said.

Huncote Leisure Centre was shut in November due to high levels of methane coming from an old landfill site.

Blaby District Council said despite remedial work, the area would be closed for the foreseeable future.

It said people had now removed, or even damaged, fencing at the site to access fields and footpaths, and enhanced barriers would have to be installed.

'No illusions'

Methane gas was found to be leaking from a waste site closed in the 1970s and while residents were told there was no immediate risk to them, the centre and fields have been closed off.

Originally the area was expected to be shut until spring 2022 but in March the council said it would take far longer to solve the issue.

The new fencing would have to be brought in after access was repeatedly forced, it said.

Terry Richardson, Blaby District Council leader, said: "The decision to keep the whole of the Huncote site closed is not one we have taken lightly. A lot of time has been spent by our officers and contractors, who have worked incredibly hard to try and reduce the landfill gas levels.

"We are increasing the amount of money we had previously committed to make sure that these works are undertaken, but we are under no illusions that there is still work to do to get us into the position we need to be in for the site to be safe for the long term."