Cornwall Council coughs up £6m to operators of Duchy leisure centres
It means facilities will be able to open in two weeks time.
Cornwall Council has stepped in to provide £6million to the operator of the Duchy’s leisure centres so that they can all open within two weeks.
Operator GLL has opened many of the leisure centres which it operates in Cornwall but the new funding will ensure all will reopen next month.
The money means that all swimming pools operated by GLL in Cornwall will be open by October 14 at the latest apart from Launceston which requires urgent maintenance but will reopen by mid November once the work is complete.
In addition the council has also provided financial support to operators on non-GLL leisure centres including Carn Brea Sports Centre, Newquay Sports Centre and Penzance Leisure Centre.
The money is in the form of loans to providers of £4.4m along with grants, loan holidays and contract payments of £1.7m. All the funding is being made from council reserves.
While the GLL leisure centres will reopen the council has indicated that Princess Pavilion will remain closed until it can reopen which is likely to be in the spring.
However the council and GLL will continue to call on the Government for financial support to help leisure businesses which have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.
Adam Paynter, deputy leader of the council, said:
“This financial package of more than £6m puts our residents’ health and wellbeing first and will provide a lifeline for GLL and our other leisure providers to keep leisure centres open while we carry out a strategic review of all our leisure services and continue to push Government for urgent funding for leisure provision.
“The pandemic has created huge financial pressures for us as a Council and this package has been a difficult decision but we must try to preserve leisure provision in Cornwall because it is so important to our residents’ health and wellbeing.
“Our leisure providers are operating in a state of uncertainty as people use leisure centres differently now than they when they did pre Covid so our providers will still be having to make some tough operational decisions in the months to come.
“We hope that as many people as possible will return to their community leisure centres once they are reopened.
“I am disappointed that the Council hasn’t got on and completed the urgent repair works, relining the pool at Launceston whilst the centre has been closed, but it will be good to get back swimming by mid November.”
James Curry, GLL head of service in Cornwall, said:
“Having to close all our centres for four months hit us very hard financially. We are delighted to have now agreed a package of measures that allows us to re-open all our Cornish leisure centres and pools and look forward to welcoming customers back.
“There is no doubt that physical fitness is more important than ever – not just in terms of battling the virus but also from a mental health perspective.
“Covid-19 restrictions mean having to operate in a different way and that does sadly mean losing some local jobs in the short term. As a social enterprise and not-for-profit organisation, GLL has done everything possible to support colleagues throughout the pandemic but, as the job retention scheme draws to a close at the end of October and market conditions remain challenging, we are having to re-shape the business in order to ensure its future viability.
“Eight of our Cornish leisure centres have been open since 25 July and the feedback we’ve been getting from customers since then has been very positive in terms of how safe and confident our infection control measures make them feel.
“It’s wonderful to be able to resume most of our services but we do need the community to support us by using the facilities. In these straightened times, it really is a case of ‘use them or lose them’.”