Pitches at Wirral sports centre to reopen two years after vandalism
The pitches have been closed since the pandemic - and parts of them had been set on fire
Last updated 4th Dec 2022
Three pitches at a sports centre in Wirral are to reopen for the first time in two years after being repeatedly vandalised.
The pitches will be reopening at the Oval Sports centre, which has seen a significant loss of revenue contributing nearly £1m to Wirral Council’s leisure department going £3.9m over budget. The pitches were initially closed during the pandemic.
Wirral councillors were debating loss of revenue at sports centres, leisure and tourism when Cllr Judith Grier asked what was happening with the pitches “as they were always busy so I can imagine there’s quite a lot of lost revenue there.”
Councillors were told they had been set on fire, angle grinders had been used to cut fencing, and even massive blocks of cemetery wall had been removed to gain access. Andrew McCartan, Wirral’s assistant director for leisure said the reopening had been delayed “because every time we seemed to repair them something happened.”
Mr McCartan said that most of the repairs had been done except some minor patches and it would be really helpful to get the pitches back open as soon as possible. The cost of these repairs as well as the site being used as a vaccination hub is what contributed to the sports centre being so over budget.
Councillors also asked to see more details on the sports centre in Bebington, its income and budget to better understand the sports centre’s financial situation as the council prepares its budget for next year.
Cllr Jerry Williams wanted to thank officers for their work in tackling the vandalism “in the most difficult circumstances.”
Driven by rising energy costs as well as a drop in numbers at leisures centres with footfall being 75% of what it was before the pandemic, Wirral’s leisure department is struggling to set a balanced budget by March 2023 with a report warning this was currently “an impossible scenario.”
Cllr Naomi Graham asked about what steps the council was taking to reduce energy usage given costs have climbed by £400,000 for leisure
Cllr Jenny Johnson wanted details on the impacts on the West Kirby Marine Lake and catering there from the controversial construction of a sea wall. Officers said that “without a doubt the sea wall has impacted catering” but the sailing centre had actually seen an increase in activity with growing popularity for paddle boarding and wing foiling.
Parking at the sailing centre will now also be free during the week as part of council plans to encourage people to visit the town but charges will still be in place at weekends.
One issue that came up was the transfer process of libraries and golf resorts into community hands which is costing the council thousands of pounds. The council decided to close nine libraries and a number of other assets to set a balanced budget for 2022.
These may increase further due to rising energy costs with holding costs at Woodchurch Leisure Centre increasing by at least £12,000 from the last estimate.
Cllr Brame asked if the asset transfer process could be sped up but Chair Helen Cameron called it “just appalling,” adding “you can’t have another debate when you chose to not set a balanced budget.”
Councillors also heard from the coroner’s service who help determine unknown causes of death.
Andre Rebello, the coroner for Liverpool and Wirral said there was growing distrust of doctors and medical professionals over the cause of death since the pandemic. He added that a current service at Arrowe Park hospital, funded by the council, was only doing six post mortems a week putting further pressure on the coroner’s service.
Mr Rebello said: “Each one of these is an individual life, an individual family, an individual community and it really is important we carry people through this process and unfortunately that takes some funding.”