Eastbourne Council Leader Commits to No “Irreversible Changes” for Leisure Centre Ahead of Review

The leader of Eastbourne Borough Council has pledged that no “irreversible changes” will be made to a leisure centre while its future is being further investigated. This assurance was given during a full council meeting held on November 20. It came as a direct response to a motion put forward by Councillor Kshama Shore, which urged the cabinet to “explore all options to keep all the facilities at the Sovereign Leisure Centre open”. Councillor Shore’s motion was introduced one week after the cabinet had sanctioned the closure of two out of the three swimming pools at the centre, prior to its scheduled transfer to Wave Leisure next year. Council leader Stephen Holt subsequently proposed an amendment, suggesting that the council’s scrutiny committee should instead examine the leisure centre’s future. Holt contended that the scrutiny committee represented the most suitable body for deliberating alternative proposals, and he stated that the council would refrain from implementing any “irreversible changes” until the committee convened. After the discussion, the council proceeded to vote in favor of adopting Mr. Holt’s proposed amendment, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. He stated: “Since 2006, with the exception of a few years, Eastbourne Borough Council has supported the Sovereign Centre on average by circa £300,000 a year. In recent years we have also invested just under £2.5 million in ensuring the Sovereign Centre stays open and operational by increasing our level of borrowing, or what our detractors call debt. I might add that without our borrowing it is likely that the Sovereign Centre would have had to close a long time ago.”