Member of Parliament, Scott Mann, has offered an update on the proposed closure of leisure centres in Cornwall. Two of the GLL centres which are being considered for closure by their parent company GLL are within Mr Mann’s North Cornwall constituency.
“I strongly oppose any decision to close the leisure centres,” said Scott Mann. “Whilst this is a matter for the local authority and not Westminster, I am doing what I can to try and resolve the situation. If GLL does decide it wants to close the sites, then I believe they should gradually transfer control over to a community-led organisation that has support from the Council.”
Since the news broke that several of Cornwall’s leisure centres were under threat, Scott and other Cornish MPs have been making this case to GLL and Cornwall Council both in public and private, meeting with members of both Launceston and Wadebridge Town Councils and their Cornwall Councillors at County Hall.
“I have made it quite clear to the Cabinet Member and Council Officer responsible for leisure centres that my constituents want their centres to stay open,” continues Scott. “My colleagues and I in Parliament are working with all stakeholders to ensure the leisure centres are accessible for the community. I have also held a meeting with Swim England to get a better understanding of the bigger picture.”
Ultimately, the contract to outsource the leisure centres to GLL was put in place by the previous Cornwall Council administration run by the Lib-Dems and Independents, and the current Conservative-led administration is somewhat constrained by what has already been signed. Scott is of the view that the contract was terribly put together and has too many “get out of jail” clauses in it, which is what GLL are using to try and remove these loss-making leisure centres from their books. With enough support from everyone involved, hopefully, it will be possible to safeguard Cornwall’s leisure centres for the long term.
