Wyre approves funds for Garstang and Thornton YMCA centres but Fleetwood and Poulton miss out

In an extraordinary meeting of the Wyre cabinet on Wednesday evening, cabinet approved this additional subsidy in 2020/21 for Fylde Coast YMCA to enable the reopening of fitness gyms and classes at Thornton and Garstang once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

It will also allow the reopening of the swimming pool at Garstang.

However, any moves to reopen the centres at Fleetwood and Poulton, both of which have swimming pools while Thornton does not, would have to be kept under monthly review until it was viable to do so.

Coun Lynne Bowen, portfolio holder for leisure, health and community engagement at Wyre Council, said the council needed to support leisure in Wyre but the centres with the most members and the most people using them were those at Garstang and Thornton.

But the decision to approve the proposals was criticised by Labour opposition councillors, including those from Fleetwood, who spoke at the meeting as non-executive officers

Coun Rob Fail, leader of Wyre’s Labour group, said: “Labour does not want to stop funds to the YMCA, but it would be remiss not to consider all the options, not just one.”

He argued that if the council were to spend £340,000 on reopening just two centres, it would make more sense to go for another of the options available – to reopen all four centres until March for the not considerably greater sum of £368,000, including those at Fleetwood and Poulton.

Coun Lorraine Beavers, of Fleetwood, said Wyre figures, which suggested Thornton had greater numbers using its amenities this year, did not take into account Fleetwood’s pool had been closed since March, affecting the amount of people who would normally have used it.

And fellow Fleetwood councillor Cheryl Raynor said the port’s swimming pool, which was the biggest in Wyre, was vital for the wellbeing of the elderly, disabled and people with mental health issues who relied on it.

However, Coun Elizabeth Webster ,Conservative member for Brock with Catterall, backed the decision and said: “Garstang is the service centre of the many rural villages of Wyre and those residents have much further to go to find alternatives facilities.”

Cabinet also approved the undertaking of a procurement exercise at a cost of £30,000 to bring in external support to help with the development of a longer term strategy for sustainable leisure provision in Wyre.