A sports hall at a popular Central London leisure centre is not expected to be reopened ahead of a planned refurbishment despite growing calls from users.
By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter
A sports hall at a popular Central London leisure centre is not expected to be reopened ahead of a planned refurbishment despite growing calls from users.
The City of London Corporation said it will not instruct officers to prepare a fully-costed report assessing whether the Golden Lane Leisure Centre facility can be brought back into use before works begin.
Rajesh Thind, Campaign Director at the Save Golden Lane Leisure Centre group, described the position as “disappointing” though said the discussion around the sports hall being brought back into use “has barely begun”.
The Golden Lane Leisure Centre, the only such facility in the Square Mile, was shut on April 30 just weeks after it was revealed operator Fusion Lifestyle was entering administration.
The decision, which was pitched by the Corporation as necessary ahead of a refurbishment later this year/start of next, has come under intense scrutiny.
This is in-part due to every other local authority with a facility run by Fusion identifying ways to keep them open.
Brockwell Lido in South London, for example, was saved after Lambeth Council stepped in to take control of the site.
The human impact of the centre’s closure, which provided services from swimming lessons for children to elderly gym sessions, has also been raised.
Paul Drinkwater, a campaigner whose daughter swam at the pool, told the LDRS on the day of its closure: “I saw her dive for the first time just last Saturday, so as well as the health impact, the impact on her proficiency, there’s the impact on her social life as well which is easy to get overlooked with projects like this. It’s easy to understand the cost of everything but the value of nothing.”
Alternative facilities have been identified by the Corporation to mitigate the impact of the closure, though some have queried their suitability and whether they are adequate replacements.
The Corporation has been accused of “preventing democracy” by rejecting a proposed motion calling on officers to take all necessary steps to reopen the centre.
It was claimed the proposal, which would have been tabled at yesterday’s Court of Common Council meeting, was “unlawful” due to not stipulating how any action may be funded.
Instead it was suggested it be amended to request a report be brought to the Community and Children’s Services Committee (CCS).
Campaigners and several councillors however argued this would have stripped the motion of its substance and simply referred it to a much smaller forum than the full Court.
The refurbishment of the centre has itself been questioned, with members recently agreeing to carry out further engagement on the design.
This was largely due to push-back over the planned replacement of the sports hall with a larger fitness gym.
Campaigners gathered outside London’s Guildhall yesterday, their second time in recent weeks, sporting colourful banners and chanting for Corporation members to reopen the centre.
Mr Drinkwater said: “Since we last spoke the leisure centre has been shut by the City of London. It’s now boarded up. People that were using it previously are now struggling to find alternative provision despite the council’s insistence otherwise. So we’ve come here to make a very public statement today, to try and…keep the pool open, to try and keep our leisure centre open so we can continue to enjoy it as a community. We had a number of councillors that were prepared to raise a motion today to ask some questions and debate within the chamber.
“That motion was blocked undemocratically. We’re unable to have a debate today about the leisure centre closing. So this is the only way we can make our voice heard. They’ve tried to block our motion but they can’t block the strength of feeling and the voices of the community here.”
‘No further discussion anticipated’
The centre was first raised at yesterday’s meeting by Common Councillor Dawn Frampton, who asked CCS Chair Deputy Helen Fentimen what lessons can be learned from the decision to shut the site and how “meaningful engagement with users” can be achieved in the future.
The question of reopening the sports hall was however asked by Common Councillor Mercy Haggerty, who requested Deputy Fentimen instruct officers to bring a “fully-costed report” to a future committee meeting assessing its viability.
Deputy Fentimen responded saying the issue of reopening the sports hall has been discussed previously, adding officers’ time would be better spent on redesign options “and to secure the best possible outcome for residents and users of the gym”.
On the challenges to reopening the hall, she said: “There are costs associated with that. There will be business rates, there will be insurance costs, the possibility of a member of staff being needed to be present at any time that sports hall is being used.”
Deputy Fentimen added the building is “unreliable”, telling members: “On a day-by-day basis parts of the internal structure and the infrastructure, such as heating, air conditioning etc, were failing. And it’s impossible on a day-by-day basis to predict what the next failure would be.
“And for those reasons at the current point there is no decision and no further discussion anticipated to reopen the sports hall during the interim period.”
Following the meeting Mr Thind said: “We are disappointed but not surprised by Helen Fentimen’s position. What is striking is that it is not shared by several of her Cripplegate ward colleagues – several of whom have privately expressed support for keeping the sports hall open ahead of the refurbishment. The Chair of the CCS Committee does not speak for every local councillor or CCS Committee member, and she certainly does not speak for the residents who rely on this facility.
“The Corporation says there are no further discussions expected. We say the discussion has barely begun. The June 30 CCS meeting will be the moment that matters – and between now and then, the pressure will continue to build.”
A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “We remain committed to Golden Lane and are investing £10.4m to secure a modern, high quality leisure centre for the long term.
“Our priority has been to protect users and secure alternative, high quality provision while the centre is closed.
“We explored whether the centre could be kept open temporarily, which would have been our favoured option were it not for the planned £10.4m redevelopment.
“On balance, moving quickly to secure alternative provision nearby, was the best way of ensuring reliable, high quality leisure provision for users in the short term.”
