The City Council’s decision to hand back three community pools to Lancashire County Council has been called-in for scrutiny.
The county council owns pools next to schools in Hornby, Carnforth and Heysham, but they are currently managed by Lancaster City Council and subsidised to the tune of £133,500. The pools are mainly used to provide swimming for schools and swimming clubs.
Last week, the city council’s Cabinet agreed to give the county council 12 months notice to end this partnership, responding to likely cuts in Government funding for the services it runs.
By giving 12 months notice, Cabinet agreed that this would give the county council time to consider the future of their pools, as part of a wider process of identifying areas where money can be saved.
However, the decision has now been called-in for scrutiny: the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee will investigate the issue at its meeting on Monday 8th February at Morecambe Town Hall, starting at 6pm.
Members of the committee will have the opportunity to question the decision makers, make recommendations and potentially ask Cabinet to reconsider the decision.
Other options available are to refer the matter to full council who, after debate, can accept Cabinet’s decision or refer it back to Cabinet for reconsideration.
Alternatively the committee can decide to take no action, in which case the decision will be implemented.
The potential closure of the pools has met with considerable concern from users. Mark Smith, head coach at the Carnforth Otters swimming club, whose 200 members train at Carnforth and Heysham, says Salt Ayre would be unable to accommodate all the sessions.