Wirral leisure centre to be demolished despite community group bid

Protesters who gathered outside Birkenhead Town Hall criticised the decision

A leisure centre is set to be demolished, despite a community group raising £83,000 in a bid to keep it open.

Woodchurch Leisure Centre in Wirral was closed in 2022 alongside nine libraries, five public toilets and two golf courses after council budget cuts.

Councillors have now voted to demolish the building which has served the community since the 1960s.

Campaigners said the decision was "heartbreaking".

Wirral Council had originally agreed to transfer the leisure centre through a process called community asset transfer to the Woodchurch Wellbeing Group.

The local authority said that would only happen if the community group refreshed its business plan and matched a council contribution of £330,000 towards the project.

The group had raised £83,000 by an 27 October deadline and were looking at other sources of external funding but had fallen short of the target.

Woodchurch Leisure Centre was first built in the 1960s and according to a council report, it "lacked significant investment over the years" and was "a costly building to operate because of its construction, layout and condition".

Campaigners say locals will not be able to afford to travel further than Woodchurch Leisure Centre to go swimming

The council said there had been "wanton vandalism" of the building in the past few months, with gangs accessing it through a skylight.

Repair costs were estimated at £29,718.

A report said the council's finance director, Matthew Bennett, "advises that the business plan is not viable and that transferring this asset on the basis of it would be a very high risk for the council".

The council would be tied down to a long lease with a group which might "struggle to find the resources to keep the premises safe", it said.

Lynn Howe, one of Woodchurch Wellbeing's directors, said the report was "at worst a deliberate misrepresentation of our proposals" to "mislead and misdirect" both the public and committee members.

'Such a shame'

Around 20 protesters gathered outside Birkenhead Town Hall during the council meeting on Tuesday night.

Angela Ford, who felt the leisure centre had been left to deteriorate, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "If it was West Kirby baths, there would be uproar.

"It's such a shame. My grandkids will never get to swim there."

Justine Clark added: "I do think if it was in a different area, it would be looked at differently. It's not fair.

"Parents cannot afford to travel to other baths. That was on their doorstep and what exercise do kids get now?"

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