Frequently Asked Questions

What is currently happening regarding Nye Bevan, Park Pool and Burscough centres? 

As with many leisure providers the Council is being hit by big increases in energy bills and other pressures due to inflation. This puts the Council at financial risk. The Council needs to act now to provide sustainable wellbeing and leisure facilities going forward. 

Unlike Burscough Wellbeing and Leisure Hub, Nye Bevan and Park Pool have reached the end of their operational lives and are no longer a financially sustainable option.  Both buildings are in a poor condition and will need investment to keep them in use over the next few years.  The Council believes that it is better to use this investment to go towards providing the new proposed wellbeing and leisure facilities. 

Burscough is in much better condition and is more financially sustainable.  The Council is currently investing £3.2m to refurbish the centre at Burscough in order to be able to continue to provide modern facilities and equipment equivalent to those offered by the private sector. The funding for Burscough was sourced from a combination of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), Council capital budget, and the West Lancashire Community Leisure Trust. 

Is this problem really down to the financial cost of running the centres? 

This coming year it is expected that the Council will have to spend around £1.2m on operating costs including energy and staffing costs for the delivery of leisure services as a whole across the borough. Circa £1m is directly attributable to the running of the leisure centres. This is £500,000 over the budgeted subsidy of £700,000 that is already required to operate the centres. The issue of repairing the building to bring it up to the required standard for operation also impacts on the decision.  

What does this mean for Nye Bevan and Park Pool? 

The condition and projected running costs of both centres continue to get worse and are putting all other leisure and wellbeing facilities at risk as well as negatively impacting on the Council's financial position.   The Council is therefore considering whether it should close Nye Bevan and Park Pool while it explores the delivery of above ground wellbeing and leisure facilities. 

As part of this consultation, the Council will be communicating with customers and people within West Lancashire about alternative provision provided by the Council and swimming pool providers and in neighbouring authorities.  

Why are Nye Bevan and Park Pool losing so much money? 

Swimming generally is expensive to provide due to the energy and labour costs associated with it. The current facilities are outdated and in need of modernisation to bring them to the standard people expect and to compete with the private sector.  Use of the centres is low and the income received does not cover the cost of running the centres. Several maintenance issues will also make the running of these centres more expensive going forward. 

What will happen to the building and land? 

The buildings and equipment have several issues which cannot be fixed easily without significant investment and it would not be financially prudent to refurbish the building. These issues also make operating the building difficult. It makes most economic sense to demolish the buildings with a view to exploring the provision of new facilities in the future. The current location of Park Pool, Ormskirk will be retained for a new leisure and wellbeing hub or it will be regreened.  

What is the longer term vision for leisure? 

The current plan includes provision of two new facilities to replace Nye Bevan and Park Pool and this would be a priority as soon as funding can be identified. This consultation will form part of the development of a long term vision for wellbeing and leisure facilities including the facilities offered at Burscough Wellbeing & Leisure Hub.  

The Council has already started to look at other options to deliver modern wellbeing and leisure facilities with one option being to consider the development of above ground swimming pools. Options like these will allow the Council to provide high quality, economically viable, sustainable leisure facilities for the borough.  

Where will people go in the short term? 

It is anticipated that Burscough Wellbeing & Leisure Hub will be reopening in January 2025 providing modern facilities with an improved offering for gym and fitness facilities. 

A full assessment of other options will be undertaken prior to any decision being made. 

What about swimming lessons? 

A full assessment of other options will be undertaken prior to any decision being made. 

Will there be any job losses? 

The Council are working closely with the staff affected to minimise any possible job losses. We are committed to supporting the staff and are acting as quickly as possible to minimise the uncertainty the staff are currently facing.  

Why not save money elsewhere to fund the centres? 

The Council has had to deliver efficiencies and savings every year since 2010 and have managed large scale reductions in its overall budget due to cuts in its government funding. Analysis shows that the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) from Government 2006-2010 was £10.463m while the same RSG 2019-2024 was £850,000. This year the Council will be making further changes to cut costs to tackle inflation and funding reductions. Nye Bevan and Park Pool centres lose so much money and those costs are anticipated to increase, so it does not make economic sense for you as the tax payer to subside it to this amount. 

Are there plans for other cuts to leisure facilities? 

The Council is developing a clear action plan and at present there are no plans for reducing any other facilities. 

What happens to users of the facilities? 

The Council will be communicating with all users and stakeholders of the facilities over the coming days.