A public plea has been made to Allerdale Borough Council to hand over the leisure centre and help Keswick save its pool.
The authority will be gone by April 1 next year as part of local government re-organisation.
Its properties, rights and liabilities will be transferred to the new Cumberland Council, which has amplified concerns that the Station Road centre — which was closed down by the council more than 200 days ago — could be entirely mothballed or the site sold off.
The new incoming unitary authority will replace councils serving Allerdale, Copeland and Carlisle with many suspecting it will ditch its liabilities and cut its cloth accordingly.
And with no politicians yet in place, there are no guarantees about what future the centre has under a new administration.
Campaigners have now pressed Allerdale council chiefs for a commitment that before they go, the leisure centre is signed over to the Keswick community so that local swimming provision can be restored.
Campaigners are considering an application to take it on as an “asset of community value” — although no formal approach has yet been made and any agreement would require the consent of Allerdale.
Debbie Devereux is a head coach with Keswick Tri-Club whose members now have to travel to Penrith for its weekly swimming sessions.
She publicly asked leaders of the Conservative-run authority to give a community transfer commitment at a meeting in Keswick last week.
Cllr Tony Markley, Allerdale’s portfolio holder for leisure, replied that the council could not give such an undertaking until an official approach is made from Keswick.
Cllr Markley added that membership of the gym at the leisure centre – which has stayed open – had increased. In 2019 the council’s maintenance and repairs to the centre – more than £160,000 – was the highest in Allerdale, he said, while there had also been significant investment in the gym.
He advised the “best thing” people in Keswick could do was to keep using the facility.
Debbie, a member of Friends of Keswick Leisure, said this week: “He did not say absolutely not and we now know a formal request needs to be made. It’s not a no, it’s a they will consider it, which is encouraging.”
But with the clock now ticking and Allerdale in its final year of existence, campaigners are wary that it may opt to mothball the site, which would leave “zero chance” for the community to take it on.
And any hopes of delivering a new pool for Keswick could drag on anywhere between five and seven years because of the complexities involved, Debbie said.
There is also a lack of clarity around Allerdale council’s contractual obligations with GLL (Green-wich Leisure Limited) the leisure centre service providers.
Legal agreements may delay or stand in the way of any smooth or speedy community transfer.
Cllr Markus Campbell-Savours — who represents Keswick on Allerdale – has stated that his preference is for councils to provide leisure services, although he said he would support any community approach.
The Labour councillor said: “As we look to the future it is important to consider all options for leisure provision in Keswick.
“I think it is right that we should be looking at an asset of community value bid and I look forward to working with local residents on such a proposal.”
Cllr Allan Daniels, the Keswick-based Conservative deputy mayor of Allerdale, also gave his support and said services should be run from the community in which they are based.
Cllr Daniels said: “I have no problem at all with it becoming an asset of community value.”
