£2.1m boost for leisure facilities

TOWN hall bosses in Stockport have signed off on an extra £2.1 million of funding for leisure facilities in the borough.

This is on top of the £2.7 million pledged for Grand Central in the town centre, bringing the total leisure investment announced this year to nearly £5 million.

Members of the borough’s ruling Labour group say this has been made possible as a result of bringing leisure back within council asset maintenance budgets.

They say the previous Liberal Democrat executive removed it from this budget without checking that Life Leisure, which runs the borough’s sports centres, was able to take up the slack.

However, Lib Dem leaders say they protected Stockport’s leisure facilities and have accused Labour of trying to ‘deflect the blame’ for any decline.

A spokesperson for the Lib Dem group said: “Under the Liberal Democrats, Stockport’s leisure services were protected and new leisure centres opened.

“The Lib Dems always dealt with issues swiftly. Nearly a year after taking office, Labour have finally decided to act on this issue and they are trying to deflect the blame.”

The latest report, agreed at the last executive meeting, identifies the investment required to bring the seven Life Leisure centres up to operational standards – of £1.54 million for upkeep and a further £0.54 million in contingency money.

The centres concerned are Avondale, Bramhall, Cheadle, Hazel Grove, Marple, Priestnall and Romiley.

Councillor Sheila Bailey, executive member for housing and communities, said: “These investments are absolutely necessary to ensure the people of Stockport have the leisure facilities they deserve.

“We are taking this action now to ensure there is no replication of the situation which led to the Grand Central facilities having to close.

“I am looking into why the decision was taken to remove leisure facilities from the council’s asset management plan, at the same time as arranging for the future capital requirements of these facilities to be reinstated.

“We now have a Labour executive prepared to take the decisions needed to ensure facilities are properly maintained and do not fall out of use.”

‘Investments necessary to ensure the people of Stockport have leisure facilities they deserve’