Council offered support to reopen leisure centres

A number of organisations have shown an interest in helping to reopen two leisure centres which closed suddenly on Wednesday, a council has said.

Yarborough and Birchwood leisure centres, in Lincoln, shut their doors after Active Nation, the charity that ran them, ceased trading.

City of Lincoln Council, which owns the buildings, said it was searching for an interim provider, but admitted it could take weeks or months to reopen them.

Chris Ord, of the social enterprise GLL, which runs leisure centres in neighbouring North Kesteven, said he was "open-minded" about the possibility of taking over in Lincoln.

Mr Ord said GLL, which operates more than 250 leisure centres in partnership with local authorities around the country, had contacted the council to offer support.

"We've got staff on the ground here, we are based around the corner from the centres, so if the conversations can be had, we will absolutely have those conversations with them," he added.

'We are the largest social enterprise leisure provider out there, so we will be on hand if we can help them and make it work."

The One NK sports complex in North Hykeham, which is operated by GLL, has extended opening hours to help those affected by the closures.

Simon Walters, a senior officer at the council with responsibility for communities, said he had been approached by a number of providers "wanting to come and talk to me".

But he warned it would take time to "unpick" the situation.

"We are working as fast as we can to try and get some facilities back, but we need a few days to understand how we can do that," he added.

Active Nation, a charity based in Warwickshire, blamed "the ongoing utility crisis and the challenges it has created" for the decision to cease trading.

The council said it had offered the charity a support package of almost half a million pounds over two years, with conditions attached, but this had not been taken up.

Scott Borman said he and his family used Yarborough Leisure Centre.

He said: "There are members who come here not just for physical fitness but to meet people.

"There is not really [another] local gym, with a competitive price, without having to drive to it and it's not as convenient."

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.