Threat to future of leisure and sports centres in Sandwell during coronavirus lockdown
A plea for donations to secure the future of eight leisure and sports centres across Sandwell after a ‘catastrophic’ loss in income has raised less than £2,000 in two weeks.
Sandwell Leisure Trust, which runs swimming pools, gyms, football pitches and a golf club on behalf of the council is losing tens of thousands in lost ticket sales after facilities shut during the coronavirus outbreak.
The enforced shut down has led it to call for donations.
Posting an appeal on it’s website, it said: “The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the Government closing all of our leisure facilities to help delay the spread of the virus, this has had a catastrophic impact on the income we collect to run an award-winning service and with no income from our customers there is a significant threat to our financial stability.”
But in the two weeks since its call, only £1,952 has been pledged by the public.
The threat to centres has been highlighted by the Local Government Chronicle this week which said half of the country’s leisure trusts fear they could collapse by June.
Local authorities are facing a double-whammy of having to continue to pay overheads while losing income. And it has led to a call for more Government funding by the chair of the Budget and Corporate Scrutiny Management Board.
Councillor Luke Giles said services which had been protected during austerity now faced being lost.
He said: “We have taken a hits over the years but Sandwell Council has been able to save services like weekly bin collections, libraries and protected a lot of front end services like leisure centres which have gone in other authorities.
“If the Government dosen’t start doshing out money quick – not just now but in the future – then residents will see services disappearing.”
When asked if Sandwell Council was considering providing additional funding for Sandwell Leisure Trust, a council spokesman said: “We fully appreciate that all businesses and suppliers are experiencing challenges during this unprecedented time.
“We are working closely with all our suppliers, including SLT, to assess what financial support can be provided to them by the council during the crisis and will continue to do this once the crisis is over.
“Our leisure facilities are important and will be vital in helping our local residents to regain their fitness once we start the return to normality.”
It comes as construction work resumed on Sandwell's Commonwealth Games aquatics centre following a short pause caused by the coronavirus lockdown.
