Criticism over Gateshead Council's efforts to keep leisure centres open

Gateshead Leisure Centre has been boarded up after its closure in July

Campaigners have criticised council efforts to keep leisure services open.

They say Gateshead Council was slow to reopen facilities after the pandemic and used it as an excuse to shut a leisure centre and two swimming pools.

The authority's leisure services boss said reopening facilities sooner after the Covid lockdowns "would not have made a difference" to closure plans.

Michael Lamb said the council did not have the money "to continue funding services like leisure".

Campaigners told the BBC it was difficult seeing facilities not making money.

One - Clip n' Climb, which cost the authority more than £311,000 - was open for two-and-a-half years before the pandemic.

It never reopened and remains inside the closed and boarded-up Gateshead leisure centre.

Layla Barclay, from Save Leisure Gateshead, said: "There is so much frustration seeing the facilities not bringing in money and we're looking at the Clip 'n Climb at the nearby Metrocentre and it's always packed.

"We've been trying to spend our money but after the pandemic - with Clip 'n Climb and the café closed and the soft play area only offering limited time slots - it hasn't been easy."

Mr Lamb, the council's director of leisure services, said: "Clip 'n Climb wasn't a priority. We couldn't take on temporary staff and we were squeezed and stretched everywhere for staff."

Clip 'n Climb, which opened in 2017, never reopened following the Covid lockdown in March 2020

Gateshead Leisure Centre and Birtley Swimming Centre closed last month after the council said it could not afford to keep them running due to budget cuts.

It is hoped the sites can be transferred to community ownership.

The authority said after lockdown it faced staff absences due to people isolating and it prioritised swimming lessons and gyms reopening.

Leisure staff had been furloughed or moved to other services during the pandemic and those who left could not be replaced while a leisure review was carried out.

Ms Barclay said: "After lockdown the authority was slow to open swimming pools and a lot of people just found somewhere else to go, it felt like the council stopped competing with other leisure providers, there seemed to be no effort."

Jacqueline Ward, who attended fitness classes at Gateshead Leisure Centre, agreed.

"I absolutely think the pandemic was an excuse to fuel the closures, personally lockdown was very stressful and I missed being able to exercise with friends, it was a huge release for me and others to our mental and physical health," she added.

"Now with the leisure centre closed it's really upsetting and annoying - I am now trying to find an alternative classes and it's not easy as I can't drive because I have epilepsy."

The entrance to Gateshead Leisure Centre is boarded up after the authority said it was no longer affordable

The authority said it had lost £179m from its annual spending power since 2010 and could no longer afford to run leisure services that were operating over-budget.

Gateshead Lib Dem Councillor Ron Beadle said he believed the authority had "never seriously attempted to reopen" the facilities and that there was "no serious attempt to recruit the number of people needed".

Wendy Arkle, who used the leisure centre for 34 years, claimed the council used the pandemic as "the ultimate excuse" for not reopening facilities.

"It's heart-breaking to see it now boarded up, it was a hub of the community, offering a place for children to develop a lifelong love of sport.

"I wish the council had taken action sooner, it decided it could no longer afford to directly fund leisure services in 2015 and it wanted them to become self-funding - but then the council continued to fund the facilities spending £18m with a further £5.5m funded through Covid grants - why did that happen?"

She questioned why membership fees were not increased and why facilities that could have made money remained closed.

Temporary hoardings and boards protect the Leisure Centre from the threat of anti-social behaviour

Angela Douglas, Labour cabinet member for culture, sport and leisure, said: "We've faced years of austerity as our budgets have continued to be cut for over a decade, we must prioritise services for our most vulnerable residents."

Mr Lamb added: "It wasn't sustainable to have five leisure centres and now we're solely focussed on keeping those remaining centres and making sure they have a sustainable future.

"These difficult decisions were always going to happen, the council just doesn't have the money to continue funding services like leisure."