Council criticised after leisure centre hours cut

Jul 30 2010 By Carl Gavaghan

CASH-strapped Runnymede Borough Council has been slated for cutting the opening hours of Addlestone Leisure Centre by a man who has played football there for 12 years.

Ben Darnton, 43, who lives in Guildford, has played five-a-side at the centre on a Sunday night with his friends and family for the last 12 years.

However, he has just received a letter from the council saying that from September he will have to find somewhere else to go.

The council is cutting the hours the centre is open to try and save £50,000 as budgets are slashed across the board.

Father-of -three Mr Darnton will now have to travel to Walton-on-Thames for his weekly game.

He slammed the councils cost-cutting measures.

“The council has recently completed a long and costly overhaul of the centre and it looks great but now they are cutting the hours down just seems stupid.

“I have played there with people from Byfleet, Egham and Weybridge for 12 years, and now because they are no longer opening on a Sunday night we are out on our ear.

“In my letter the council says it has to cut costs but we spend about £70 there all told every Sunday for the pitch and drinks after and I'm sure the people before and after us do the same.

“They are throwing away good money. It is just a rubbish decision.”

From September 6 the centre will be open weekdays from 4pm to 10.30pm and on weekends from 8am until 5pm.

Also under the proposals, a charitable Runnymede Leisure Trust would be set up to run the centres, to save a further £150,000 in reduced business rates and VAT exemptions.

Speaking when the changes were announced Andrew Pearson, director of administration and leisure at Runnymede Council, said: "Runnymede Council is in the middle of a series of service reviews of all its major functions. It has to achieve a reduction in cost because its income has been squeezed while demands have increased.

"The council has agreed two measures for its leisure centres. The first is to work towards transferring their management to a local charitable trust. The council would be represented on the trust but would not control it. Because of tax breaks and fund-raising opportunities for recreational charities, the trust should be able to provide the same services to the same quality, at a lower cost.

"We have also found that the level of customer visits during the school day made it difficult to justify the cost of keeping the centre open during those times. The council will therefore reduce the opening hours from the beginning of the winter term this year."