Catmose Sports Centre to close as councillors refuse to re-allocate flood funds
Members voted against using money earmarked for flood defence
A council has voted to close a leisure centre in Oakham instead of using money allocated for flood management to keep it open.
At a special meeting of Rutland County Council last night (Thursday, April 18) members voted against using money earmarked from their budget for flood defence, to keep Catmose Leisure Centre in Oakham from closing.
The proposal was to take money allocated for flood protection management, and re-direct that to pay for a private company to manage Catmose Leisure Centre, which has more than 8,000 members.
When that proposal was lost, a second recommendation to not award a new contract to avoid any financial liability lying with the council was won – meaning the centre will have to close.
As the meeting came to an end, several members of the public cried out saying: “You should be ashamed of yourselves”, and “How dare you treat 8,000 people like that?”, as well as “You’re an embarrassment to the county”.
During the meeting, council leader Gale Waller (Lib Dem) said: “What you have before you tonight is the result of cabinet’s deliberations on these matters – with no additional funding available, the decision is how to re-allocate existing financial resources.
“Cabinet feels that transferring the climate and flood management funding to leisure to pay for a private contractor, is the least worst option.”
She added: “In order to balance our books we have extremely challenging savings targets over the next four years, and committing funding to a ten-year contract with a private company for non-statutory provision, limits the flexibility we, and our successors will have to react should the council’s savings targets not be met.
“This decision is not something we would choose to do, and therefore members will each be voting according to their consciences, and what they believe is in the best interests for the whole of Rutland.”
The result was: six votes for using the flood money, 16 votes against, and three abstentions.
In February, following the unprecedented local flooding after Storm Henk and Storm Babet, the council made tackling the climate emergency one of its priorities.
With the option to use the flood money defeated, the vote moved to the alternative recommendation that the council not award a new contract, and conclude any financial liability arrangements with the leisure centre.
That recommendation was approved with 13 votes for; two votes against, and 10 abstentions.
The decision will have to be confirmed by the cabinet at a later date; but in effect, with no council or private funding, Catmose Leisure Centre would have to close its doors to the public.
How did your councillor vote?
Councillors who voted in favour of re-allocating flood defence management money (6): Andrew Brown (Ind – Lyddington), Samantha Harvey (Ind – Cottesmore), Hannah Edwards (Lib Dem – Oakham North), Mark Chatfield (Lib Dem – Oakham North), Tracy Carr (Ind – Barleythorpe), Nick Begy (Ind – Greetham)
Councillors who voted against (16): Gale Waller (LibDem – Normanton), Andrew Johnson (Lib Dem – Braunston and Martinsthorpe), Christine Wise (Lib Dem – Uppingham), Paul Browne (Lib Dem – Oakham South), Diane Ellison (Lib Dem – Oakham South), Tim Smith (Lib Dem- Normanton), Abigail West (Lib Dem – Cottesmore), Stephen Lambert (Li bDem – Uppingham), Raymond Payne (Lib Dem – Oakham South), Hans Zollinger-Ball (Green – Barleythorpe), Kevin Corby (Ind – Ryhall and Casterton), Rosemary Powell (Ind – Whissendine), David Wilby (Con – Ryhall and Casterton), Matthew Farina (Con – Ketton), Karen Payne (Con – Ketton), Ramsay Ross (Labour – Oakham North)
Councillors who voted to abstain (3): Lucy Stephenson (Con – Uppingham), Giles Clifton (Con – Braunston and Martinsthorpe) and Kiloran Heckels (Con – Exton)
The date of the next meeting will be the Annual Council meeting on Monday, May 20, 2024.