Closure of town's leisure centre confirmed

A leisure centre which was temporarily shut will close permanently, councillors have said.

Dewsbury Sports Centre closed last September after the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) in the building.

Kirklees Council said it would cost approximately £10m to refurbish both the wet and dry sides of the centre.

After a heated debate cabinet members voted in favour of plans to permanently close the site at a meeting this afternoon.

Dewsbury West councillor Tanisha Bramwell, who labelled the decision "wrong" after the vote was passed, described the centre as a "crucial lifeline for health and sport" in the town.

Graham Turner, who represents the ruling Labour party on the council, said the decision to close the centre was "terribly sad".

He said the council could "look at providing something" by way of a leisure facility if the council's financial situation improved, but added: "When that is likely to be is anybody's guess at the moment."

Six options for the building had been considered, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They included reopening the entire site, and reopening the dry side and transferring the asset to the community.

There was also a proposal allowing the wet side to be flattened and turned into a car park or given another alternative use.

Turner said none of them "contain a perfect answer because they are all unaffordable at the present time".

The BBC has contacted the council to ask how it will fund the decision.

The centre had been making the greatest loss of all the Kirklees Active Leisure-run (KAL) facilities, losing just over £1.1m each year.

The demolition and conversion into a car park would cost about £3.5m, while the council would also have to exit a lease for the dry-side facilities which could incur significant costs.

If the recommendations are approved, the council would also be writing off £697,000 of KAL’s remaining borrowing costs which were payable in instalments until 2035 for improvements to the fabric of the centre.

Councillor Beverley Addy, cabinet member for adult social care and health, said: “This is a difficult decision and one that we won’t take lightly.

"That’s why we’ve spent a year looking at all the options.

"But we can’t escape the fact that the building needs multi million-pound improvements just to reopen as well as an ongoing subsidy of over £1m each year."

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