Uncertainty over start of leisure centre scheme works

COUNCIL bosses have promised an update on £63m plans to overhaul County Durham’s gyms and leisure centres ‘as soon as we can’.

In January, Durham County Council agreed the multi-million pound programme to either renovate, rebuild or update all its fitness facilities.

But months in which much non-essential work has ground to a halt due to the impact of coronavirus has prompted leaders to demand answers from those working on the scheme.

“At the moment the leisure centres are closed and we’ve got no indication as to when they will reopen,” said Liberal Democrat opposition councillor Mark Wilkes.

“The leisure centre changes are a huge amount, £60m of investment to regenerate them, but there’s other schemes as well. Decisions have been made, but we don’t know as councillors what the feeling is as to when those projects will start to occur on the ground, in terms of actual work.”

He added it may even be possible to begin some work now, while leisure centres are closed, which could speed up final completion.

Coun Wilkes was speaking at last week’s meeting of the county council’s corporate overview and scrutiny management board.

Existing leisure centres in Seaham, Chester-le-Street and Bishop Auckland are all set to be rebuilt under the programme, with a further five slated for refurbishment, including Durham’s Freeman’s Quay Leisure Centre, which opened in 2008 to replace the former Durham’s City Baths.

Bosses have previously claimed the ‘sad state’ of some centres means the cash injection is essential to maintain services in some areas, or risk seeing them shut down. The scheme has been called the ‘biggest single investment in leisure of any council in the North East’.

“We’ve been all hands on deck with the current emergency,” said Terry Collins, the council’s chief executive. “I think you will have to bear with us for a little while, until we get back to where we were. The world has been upside down for a few months and we need to reset ourselves, but we will be back with information as soon as we can.”

A report for councillors on the progress of plans to overhaul leisure centres is expected in September.