Council agrees to public consultation on future of leisure centres

• Residents and stakeholders asked to give their views on Nye Bevan and Park Pool
• Consultation is part of a wider review to keep the Council financially stable
• Council remains committed to delivering high quality leisure facilities for the Borough

A vote to open a public consultation on the future of Nye Bevan Pool and Park Pool was carried on Wednesday at a meeting of Full Council.

The consultation is planned to open next week when the public will be invited to share their opinions and thoughts about the leisure facilities.

The Council are reviewing the future of both centres which are heavily subsided to keep them operational. Options open to the Council include closing the existing facilities and revisiting existing plans for the two new Hubs to incorporate modern construction methods that are more sustainable and economically viable. Any alternative options presented with a clear business case and financed will be welcomed and considered, including from the community or the private sector, if it means keeping the centres or one of them open.

Councillor Yvonne Gagen, Leader of West Lancashire Borough Council, said: “We want to assure residents that we remain committed to delivering new, high-quality wellbeing and leisure hubs for the people of the Borough, as demonstrated by the ongoing £3.2m upgrade of the Burscough Wellbeing & Leisure Hub.

“But in order to do this, we must consider all options, particularly in light of the incredibly difficult economic situation we are dealing with due to funding cuts and rising costs over many years which has massively impacted on our budget.

“I will only ever be honest with residents; we have a legal duty to present a balanced budget in February. For many years, due to government cuts to our funding, the Council has relied upon the use of reserves to balance its budget and this is no longer possible. The only way that we can achieve this is to make significant savings or increase our income to fill the gap. Unlike other organisations like the NHS, we are not allowed to overspend the budget we set.

“In order to give ourselves the best possible chance of delivering improved leisure facilities in the Borough we must take decisive action now to stabilise the financial position and create the capacity for future investment. If we do not take this action, it will be a huge blow to future plans to deliver the new facilities. Therefore, we are duty bound to consider all options to secure our financial future and the development of new facilities.

“This consultation is the best way to tell us what you think, so please take part. We will consider everyone’s thoughts and feelings before any further proposals are presented to Council.”

The consultation on the Borough’s leisure facilities is part of a wider review to secure the financial future of West Lancashire Borough Council in light of 14 years of sustained budget cuts from central Government.

Councillor Gagen added: "We are actively lobbying the new Government to review funding allocations to local councils. We hope in the upcoming budget that money can be found, but we need to be realistic about the country's finances. If there is no immediate Government money made available from this year's budget following the recent General Election, we will begin the lobbying for that money to be made available in next year's budget, particularly if there is an improved economic situation in the next financial year."

The consultation is planned to launch next week and will stay open until the end of November 2024.

Details of how you can take part will be released very soon. Please keep an eye on our social media channels and website for more details.

If you have questions about the leisure consultation, you can read our FAQs here.