Leisure centre announces sudden closure due to rising energy bills and inflation
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA leisure centre is set to close due to soaring energy bills and continuing inflationary pressures. Whitworth Leisure Centre, in Whitworth, Rochdale, is set to shut its doors in July as the council which manages the site, Rossendale Borough Council, looks to cut costs.
The council say they were 'saddened' to have to make the decision to close the site, one they say was not 'taken lightly'. However, they say the increasing costs of running the centre, which has a swimming pool, put the council at financial risk after receiving a report from independent financial experts, Grant Thornton.
Costs for the centre have increased by more than £1 million compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic, the council says, with the building also in 'poor condition'.
The financial report recommended closing the centre 'as soon as possible', which the council have decided to do. READ MORE: 'I pay over £1,000 to live in a one-bed flat in a place where there's always someone off their head' The leisure trust also pointed to a number of other problems, including asbestos and other structural issues, and say the best use of the site would come with demolishing the building altogether, but plans have not been put forward for that at this stage.
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