Gateshead leisure centres: Nearly 7,500 have say on cuts

Demonstrators protested against the proposed cuts at the Gateshead leisure centres

Almost 7,500 people have had their say on controversial plans to close leisure centres in Gateshead amid budget cuts.

At least two sites could be shut in 2023 by the council to help plug a £55m financial blackhole over five years.

Leader Martin Gannon said if new funding was not secured from the government the authority would be left with "no option" but to approve cuts.

A protest was held outside the civic centre on Tuesday and a final decision will be made in January.

The Gateshead Leisure Centre in Saltwell, Dunston Leisure Centre and potentially the sports hall at Birtley Leisure Centre have been deemed most at risk after being branded the "least sustainable".

The council wants an additional £6.6m per annum to "safeguard" its leisure services across the borough, Mr Gannon said.

The plans have sparked warnings over a deterioration in people's physical and mental wellbeing.

Gateshead Leisure Centre, in Saltwell, is among the facilities under threat

After an extended public consultation on the plans ended on Tuesday, council bosses confirmed they received a total of 7,419 responses, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The authority said it would analyse the comments before a decision on the leisure centres' future is made at a cabinet meeting on 24 January.

Mr Gannon, a Labour councillor, said he would continue to keep up the pressure on ministers.

"We are currently in a cost-of-living crisis, and rising inflation is putting additional pressures on the council to deliver critical services," he said.

"At a time when costs are soaring, our budgets are being cut and there are expectations from residents that we can continue to deliver the same level of service as in previous decades - but this is simply impossible.

"While the consultation has been completed, our efforts to lobby for government funding will not stop. If this is not achieved, then sadly we have no option but to rationalise our leisure services."

The council has had its budget slashed by £179m since 2010.

It also revealed further plans to make £14.5m of savings, on top of the leisure centres closures, in 2023-24, affecting frontline services including park maintenance and bins.

The government has previously said that it has made available an additional £3.7bn to councils this year to "ensure they have the resources to maintain and improve their vital services".

Details of next year's core funding will be announced shortly, a government spokesperson added.