Leisure centres face funding blow from Shropshire Council

Teme Leisure, the organisation that runs centres in Bishop's Castle, Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer and Ludlow, will receive 25 per cent less money in the next financial year.

The centres include threatened ones such as Teme Church Stretton and SpArC in Bishop's Castle, which both have local campaigns running to keep them open.

Town councils had been told all funding would stop for the leisure centres in April 2017, but last month they were given one more year to look into finding alternative ways to keep such venues running.

Now Heather Kidd, Shropshire councillor for Chirbury and Worthen, has said that extra year will not see the same level of funding. She said Teme Leisure has been singled out for a quarter of its management fee to be slashed, a move she said could hasten the feared closure of SpArC.

She said: "Shropshire Council's financial strategy report includes a cut of £77,830 to Teme Leisure for 2017/18. This will affect SpArC and could close the pool.

"This is grossly unfair when the leader of council has given town and parish councils a year to work with the Shropshire Council to find a way to fund these services."

Shropshire Council was unavailable to comment. Its financial strategy document says a 25 per cent saving will be made on re-negotiating the Teme Leisure contract, but adds that it will result in reduction in provision. It also identifies £70,080 saving to be made from a non-specific "combination of efficiency savings and local commissioning of functional areas" to do with sports, leisure and swimming.

Lee Hassan, general manager at Teme Leisure, said they had no plans to close any of the centres. He said: "What we are about is keeping facilities open, not closing them."