Gateshead Council Leisure review
The Council is soon to be consulting on the future delivery of leisure services in the borough, including the permanent closure of at least two leisure centres.
Over the last twelve years, the Council has faced a reduction in funding of £179 million and is forecasting the need to realise savings amounting to £55 million over the next 5 years. We must prioritise our limited resources for our most vulnerable communities and for vital services such as social care, housing support and fostering. These pressures leave the Council with no option but to review all of its operations, including leisure services. In order to reduce the costs of providing a leisure service, the Council has now agreed to seek an external delivery partner to manage the service and the possible closure of at least two leisure centres. We recognise that this will have an impact on our residents and stakeholders, and no formal decisions have yet been made on which leisure centres will close, though initial modelling suggests that Birtley Sports Hall, Dunston and Gateshead Leisure Centres are least sustainable. For financial year 2022/23 we are already projecting an overspend within the leisure services of £2.1m - with the overall service costs being £4.3m.
A public consultation will commence on 2 November and run until 20 December 2022. This will provide an opportunity for residents and stakeholders to have their say on the way they use current services, how a reduction in service might impact on them, and to suggest ways to improve services. The consultation will be available online, and for those without access to the internet, access will be available at local libraries. A series of in person engagement events will also be arranged.
The outcome of the consultation will be presented to Cabinet in January 2023 to enable a formal decision to be made on which leisure facilities will close.
Gateshead International Stadium is subject to a separate review process which will result in recommendations for its future later this year. Trade unions have been consulted and internal processes have started to support staff across the leisure service who have been identified as at risk as part of this process.
Cllr Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council, said: "As a local authority we must prioritise helping residents in these desperate times. Rising inflation and the impact of war in the Ukraine, together with the recent failings of Government, have led to the most vulnerable in our communities having to make difficult choices between heating and eating.
Our residents are on the absolute edge. Ward members and I are hearing from residents that are suicidal because they see no bright days ahead of them, they only see the cold and hungry days. Residents are accessing food banks in heart break because they've not eaten for two days and have not been able to feed their children. This isn't just for today - we are going to see health inequalities
in children worsen in future, as a result of malnutrition. When our residents have no food, no heating, no money in their wallet and no savings they we can't expect them to pay for a membership to our leisure services.
As a Council, we too must make difficult decisions and must prioritise essential services. Considering the permanent closure of two leisure centres is not something we do lightly, however in the current climate we simply cannot continue to run the leisure service in its current state.
The cost-of-living crisis is driving the cost of running leisure centres to an unmanageable level. As an authority we've faced 13 years of budget cuts which has led to demising resources to deliver our essential services. Due to continued pressures on staffing we've seen short notice closures of leisure centres and prolonged closure of Heworth Leisure Centre in the summer. As some of the leisure centres require nearly £10m of repair work, leisure services are in a critical state, and we must act quickly in order to guarantee a future for the service.
Never in my 38 years of politics and as the leader of Gateshead Council did I expect to be in such dire circumstances where we aren't just talking about additional money, we are talking about people considering suicide as they can't afford to live. I will stand with my party and the opposition if the LibDems so wish to lobby to central government for additional funding including capital funding, which may put us in a position where we do not have to consider the closure of leisure centres. I stress that while we are consulting on the closure of two leisure centres, this is not a done deal."
Alice Wiseman, Gateshead's Director of Public Health, said: "The last few years have been extremely difficult for many people and sadly, we know that many families and individuals across Gateshead are really struggling right now. As a result, we need to prioritise our reducing resources on delivering critical services for those who most need our care.
Of course, physical activity plays an important role in keeping us all healthy and we remain committed to helping our communities to get active and stay active. However, having carefully considered its strengths, limitations and costs, we must recognise that our current leisure centre service is not sustainable and in the current climate, the people who would benefit most from increasing their activity levels simply can't afford to use these facilities. In order to address inequalities, we must focus our efforts on providing more accessible, inclusive and affordable opportunities to exercise for all our residents, regardless of their circumstances."
The Council is soon to be consulting on the future delivery of leisure services in the borough, including the permanent closure of at least two leisure centres.
Over the last twelve years, the Council has faced a reduction in funding of £179 million and is forecasting the need to realise savings amounting to £55 million over the next 5 years. We must prioritise our limited resources for our most vulnerable communities and for vital services such as social care, housing support and fostering. These pressures leave the Council with no option but to review all of its operations, including leisure services. In order to reduce the costs of providing a leisure service, the Council has now agreed to seek an external delivery partner to manage the service and the possible closure of at least two leisure centres. We recognise that this will have an impact on our residents and stakeholders, and no formal decisions have yet been made on which leisure centres will close, though initial modelling suggests that Birtley Sports Hall, Dunston and Gateshead Leisure Centres are least sustainable. For financial year 2022/23 we are already projecting an overspend within the leisure services of £2.1m - with the overall service costs being £4.3m.
A public consultation will commence on 2 November and run until 20 December 2022. This will provide an opportunity for residents and stakeholders to have their say on the way they use current services, how a reduction in service might impact on them, and to suggest ways to improve services. The consultation will be available online, and for those without access to the internet, access will be available at local libraries. A series of in person engagement events will also be arranged.
The outcome of the consultation will be presented to Cabinet in January 2023 to enable a formal decision to be made on which leisure facilities will close.
Gateshead International Stadium is subject to a separate review process which will result in recommendations for its future later this year. Trade unions have been consulted and internal processes have started to support staff across the leisure service who have been identified as at risk as part of this process.
Cllr Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council, said: "As a local authority we must prioritise helping residents in these desperate times. Rising inflation and the impact of war in the Ukraine, together with the recent failings of Government, have led to the most vulnerable in our communities having to make difficult choices between heating and eating.
Our residents are on the absolute edge. Ward members and I are hearing from residents that are suicidal because they see no bright days ahead of them, they only see the cold and hungry days. Residents are accessing food banks in heart break because they've not eaten for two days and have not been able to feed their children. This isn't just for today - we are going to see health inequalities
in children worsen in future, as a result of malnutrition. When our residents have no food, no heating, no money in their wallet and no savings they we can't expect them to pay for a membership to our leisure services.
As a Council, we too must make difficult decisions and must prioritise essential services. Considering the permanent closure of two leisure centres is not something we do lightly, however in the current climate we simply cannot continue to run the leisure service in its current state.
The cost-of-living crisis is driving the cost of running leisure centres to an unmanageable level. As an authority we've faced 13 years of budget cuts which has led to demising resources to deliver our essential services. Due to continued pressures on staffing we've seen short notice closures of leisure centres and prolonged closure of Heworth Leisure Centre in the summer. As some of the leisure centres require nearly £10m of repair work, leisure services are in a critical state, and we must act quickly in order to guarantee a future for the service.
Never in my 38 years of politics and as the leader of Gateshead Council did I expect to be in such dire circumstances where we aren't just talking about additional money, we are talking about people considering suicide as they can't afford to live. I will stand with my party and the opposition if the LibDems so wish to lobby to central government for additional funding including capital funding, which may put us in a position where we do not have to consider the closure of leisure centres. I stress that while we are consulting on the closure of two leisure centres, this is not a done deal."
Alice Wiseman, Gateshead's Director of Public Health, said: "The last few years have been extremely difficult for many people and sadly, we know that many families and individuals across Gateshead are really struggling right now. As a result, we need to prioritise our reducing resources on delivering critical services for those who most need our care.
Of course, physical activity plays an important role in keeping us all healthy and we remain committed to helping our communities to get active and stay active. However, having carefully considered its strengths, limitations and costs, we must recognise that our current leisure centre service is not sustainable and in the current climate, the people who would benefit most from increasing their activity levels simply can't afford to use these facilities. In order to address inequalities, we must focus our efforts on providing more accessible, inclusive and affordable opportunities to exercise for all our residents, regardless of their circumstances."
