City council faces judicial review over withdrawal of leisure centre funding

Campaigners have launched judicial review proceedings against a city council’s decision to end its financial subsidy for a leisure centre.

Sheffield City Council has decided to withdraw its £400,000 subsidy for Stocksbridge Leisure Centre. The move is part of the authority’s attempt to cut £50m from its budget.

However, 4SLC (For Stocksbridge Leisure Centre) Trust has instructed Unity Law and Helen Mountfield QC to challenge the decision.

The grounds for the challenge include flawed consultation and a breach of the public sector equality duty.

4SLC has called on the council to conduct a new consultation and to reassess the needs of the disabled and elderly users of the leisure centre.

The trust claimed that closure of the leisure centre would affect thousands of people.

A spokesman for the council said: "Sheffield City Council is facing unprecedented cuts in its funding and will have £50m less in its budget next year. Coupled with £140m savings having to be made in the last two years, this means that difficult decisions will have to be made.

“These are extraordinarily difficult times and we have said that we will have to look at tough options because of the unfair government cuts to public spending and local government. We have said all along that we have to consider all options.”

The spokesman added: “A long list of proposals have been drawn up by officers in an attempt to balance the budget and they include sadly one option which is to withdraw funding to Stocksbridge Leisure Centre. It costs £400,000 a year to operate and attracts far fewer visits than other similar centres in the city.

“We are still committed to promoting physical activity and health and therefore we are working up plans to develop a new pool in the north of the city that would be more cost effective.”