Dewsbury Sports Centre could get last minute reprieve - as decision to close 'called in'
Councillors will now take a close look at the controversial decision to shutter the facility and knock it down
Despite the controversial decision to close Dewsbury Sports Centre for good, the fight to save the “cornerstone” of the community continues on.
Earlier this month, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet green-lit plans to permanently close the sports facility despite widespread opposition from the community and several councillors. This approval means the council-owned ‘wet-side’ of the site can be demolished and given an alternative use. As for the ‘dry-side’, the council will be exiting a 125-year lease.
Though this decision had already been made, a debate on the subject had been scheduled for the Full Council meeting the following week. Here, it emerged that the Community Alliance group had ‘called-in’ the decision for further scrutiny.
Group Leader, Cllr Cathy Scott (Dewsbury East), said: “Dewsbury Sports Centre is not merely a facility, it’s a cornerstone of our communities. It’s a place where people of all ages come to exercise, socialise and learn and in some cases it was their employment.
“…The closure of this centre threatens the wellbeing of our entire town, so don’t keep quoting the blueprint, we know the blueprint, it’s years ahead. We are stripping away a crucial source of health and social activity.”
Councillor Tanisha Bramwell (Independent, Dewsbury South) told the meeting of the role the sports centre had played in her own life, putting her on the right path as a teenager, rather than being involved with anti-social behaviour and gang-related activity.
She said: “Those youth workers took me from the estate that I’d only ever known to Dewsbury Sports Centre and it was there that I found my love of football…I did and saw so many opportunities because the sports centre bridged that gap.”
Dewsbury Sports Centre was initially shut last September when collapse-prone Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) was found at the premises. The RAAC was said to only be present in the wet-side of the centre, leading some to question whether the dry-side alone could re-open. However, this was not considered to be a viable option.
Dewsbury West ward councillor, Cllr Darren O’Donovan, (Labour) spoke of his attachment to the sports centre. He continued: “Nothing would’ve pleased me more than to save that place…but I’m pragmatic, and when I spoke to Cabinet Members, Cllr Turner, and I looked at the figures, hoping for a way forward – you can’t disagree with the figures that are in front of you.”
Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, Cllr Bev Addy, echoed Cllr O’Donovan’s comments and said: “This is not a choice. This is not something we’ve picked out of the air and have said ‘let’s close Dewsbury Sports Centre’.
“The RAAC is real, the figures are real, the dry-side was in no state to open on its own, it wouldn’t have just been a case of turning round and opening the doors. Nothing can take away the pain of the loss of a centre which holds such nostalgic and important memories that’s influenced so many people’s lives.”
Councillor Addy said the council is looking towards the future when it comes to Dewsbury’s leisure provision. She added: “We will be making new opportunities, we will be looking after people’s public health…”