The Towers: Ex-boss of outdoor centre hits out at plan to axe Wolverhampton Council site
A former chief of an at-risk outdoor educational centre in North Wales has called proposals to close it a "crime".
The Towers Outdoor Education Centre, based in Betws-y-Coed, is run by Wolverhampton Council, which says it needs £600,000 to bring it back into use.
Plans put forward by chiefs could see the facility, which has been temporarily closed since August, axed and auctioned off.
But Liz Butler, who was a former joint-head of the centre for 10 years, said it would be a "major disappointment" if it happened.
The 61-year-old, who worked at the centre for 31 years and is now parts of the friends group, said: "I was shocked, really, because obviously it's been there during my career and it gets younger people into the outdoors.
"Everything went brilliantly well until August when some improvements were agreed and when it was undertaken, they found structural problems and it needed more money – then everything stopped.
"It's a major disappointment that not are they going to complete the building works, they're looking to close it down too."
The facility, which has been used for 59 years, has seen around 120,000 young people visit.
She added: "I think it would be a crime to close Towers and deny the young people of Wolverhampton the opportunity to benefit from the courses.
"It would be a real loss and I think, if it goes ahead, it will be a short-sighted decision – they save money. might make some money from the sale, but once it's gone it's gone.
"It can't be restarted and that provision is lost completely."
Wolverhampton Council will decide on whether to axe the centre, hand it over to someone else to run, or keep it, at a meeting on February 19.
