Call for Bishop's Castle pool timetable cuts to be reversed

Teme Leisure, which operates the SpArC Centre, says it was forced to slash opening times at the beginning of August because of funding cuts from Shropshire Council. It subsidised the centre to the tune of £273,626 in 2011/12, but this funding is being cut by 35 per cent.

Some swimmers claim they can no longer get to the pool at reasonable times and want Teme to reverse its decision.

The SpArC Centre took 12 hours out of its weekly timetable from August 1 and will no longer open on Saturdays.

A dozen people turned up at SpArC yesterday morning to meet local Shropshire Councillor Charlotte Barnes who advised them to send the petition to Shirehall.

In it, people have listed grievances about changes to swimming times, the closure of SpArC on Saturday and how they thought SpArC had been unfairly hit by cuts.

One person frustrated by the cuts is retired Bishop's Castle GP Dr Nick Howell.

He said: "I can understand the position they are in but I've just taken out a membership with SpArC for £215 and I might ask them for some of it back because of the cuts."

Teme Leisure bosses and Shropshire Council have defended the 'regrettable' cuts, saying SpArC received one of the highest subsidies measured against population of all leisure centres in Shropshire.

Councillor Steve Charmley said: "The overall grant Shropshire Council pays to Teme to run the centres is being phased down by about 35 per cent. These savings will come from a number of the facilities including Ludlow and Bishop's Castle."

Peter Williams, chief executive of Teme Leisure, said they 'have had to come up with the least worst option'.

He added: "I know it will not suit everyone but we have had our funding significantly reduced."