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Clifton Hill Sports Centre is set to close

Clifton Hill Sports Centre, Exeter

Tories in Exeter have slammed the ‘disgusting and devastating’ news that Clifton Hill Sports Centre is set to close – and have accused the council of shutting anything that gets in the way of their proposed new leisure centre.

Exeter City Council on Wednesday said that a report into the future of Exeter’s Clifton Hill Sports Centre that is currently being compiled is likely to recommend that it permanently closes.

The leisure centre has been shut since March after heavy snowfall caused a major leak in the roof.

A report is currently being compiled into the future of Clifton Hill but Exeter City Council director Jo Yelland said on Wednesday that it is likely to ask councillors to support a permanent closure.

Councillor Leadbetter leader of the Conservative Group on Exeter City Council, said: “We will be watching very carefully as to what happens next, but it feels to us like they are shutting down the leisure centres so they can spend all the money and investment on their million pound folly of the new leisure centre.

“This is something that we have been warning would happen for several years and now they are looking like to go ahead and do it. We will be fighting this and fighting to keep this, but the recommendation is likely to say that the council should shut it and pile even more money into their white elephant of the new pool.”

“A lot of people use the sports centre so where are they going to go now, particularly given that Riverside is still closed? It does mean that even more people are going to have to pile into the city centre, but there is no pool there yet and it is years away before this new pool will open. This decision is letting down the residents of Exeter and it feels that they are just shutting anything that gets in the way of the new leisure centre, which is disgusting.

Last week, Councillor Phil Bialyk, Exeter City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Health, Fitness and Wellbeing, admitted investigations are continuing into the closure of Clifton Hill but that he was awaiting the results of a report as to the future of the leisure centre.

He said: “We were told that it was closed by Legacy Leisure on the basis that the roof had a lot of snow damage. They had to close the facility because it was dangerous and we are having it investigated.

“We will receive a report as to what either needs to be done. I haven’t had any preliminary advice or spoken to anybody. All I know is the officers that are dealing with it are working on a report.

“People are going to have conjecture speculation, but I am waiting to see the report, and then the appropriate council committee will deal with it.”

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