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The leisure service at Churchill Sports Centre – which includes a swimming pool, gym and studio – has been closed since March 2020, the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
In that time, almost three years, the council has worked with the local community and other partners to investigate all possible funding options to subsidise the facility for it to have a viable future. Following a further period of consultation that ended in October 2022, no funding has been found to reinstate services.
The sports pitches and sports hall, which are operated by Churchill Academy, will remain available for community use.
A decision paper published today (Monday 30 January), states that the leisure service at Churchill Sports Centre, the only sports centre to require council subsidy, cost over £100,000 a year in management fees and running costs. The subsidy would be considerably higher now due to inflationary increases, the rise in energy prices and the slow recovery of the gym market post-pandemic.
Councillor Mike Solomon, North Somerset Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and community services, said: “Churchill Sports Centre has been subject to prolonged and extensive engagement with our executive, local ward members, parish councils in the area and local stakeholders. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Churchill Sports Centre Working Group, ward members and council officers who have worked hard to explore all options.
“Despite all this hard work, no-one has been able to find the money necessary to reinstate services and to keep the centre running. Regrettably, we’ve now been left with no alternative but to confirm that it will not reopen.”
No redundancies are associated with the decision and there is no operator contract to negotiate.
The decision notice can be found on the council’s website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/januarydecisions.
A list of leisure centres in North Somerset, ways to get involved in sports and physical activities, and the council’s Sport and Leisure Facilities Strategy 2020-2036 can be found at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/leisure.