There are no plans to close leisure centres to help the Isle of Wight council balance the books.
That was the message from the leisure services lead cabinet member of the Isle of Wight council this week.
It came in the wake of Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council considering taking on Medina Leisure Centre should the Isle of Wight council (IWC) get rid of it due to ongoing financial pressures.
Warning from Cllr Love
Last month, IWC cabinet member for adult social care, Cllr Karl Love said in order to balance the books, leisure centres, among other services, would have to close, as has been done elsewhere in the country.
With less than four months left of the council’s financial year, the adult social care service is already set to go over its budget by £2,647,000 due to rising costs, the pressure to provide care packages and the struggle to recruit staff.
Cllr Love said the council needed to be prepared to make some very difficult decisions unless the government stepped in and gave adult social care the money it had promised.
Budget deficit of £1,279,000
The council-owned 1Leisure service has been slow to recover from Covid, with membership levels not returning to pre-pandemic levels, and is facing a budget deficit of £1,279,000.
A review of the services is being undertaken and the findings will help see where some of the issues are.
Jones-Evans: No plans at the moment to close leisure centres
However, IWC Cllr Julie Jones-Evans, cabinet member for regeneration and business development, speaking at the community council meeting earlier this week, said the review was always going to happen, but there were no plans at the moment to close leisure centres.
Cllr Jones-Evans called Cllr Love’s comments an unguarded remark, but said it was not what the Island was looking at.
She said this matter was not something that needed to be debated now but she did not have a crystal ball to see what could happen in the future.
Garratt: Be mindful of alarming the public
Cllr Andrew Garratt, vice-chair of the community council, warned IWC cabinet members about sending messages that could alarm the public.
Community councillors said the issue should be put on the backburner.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © Isle of Wight Council
