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| Applemore Recreation Centre |
Conservatives appear to have scrapped plans to privatise the five District Council Health & Leisure Centres in the New Forest.
The Tories has instructed Council Chiefs to prepare for privatising the Health and Leisure Centres, based at Ringwood, Totton, Applemore, Lymington and New Milton. However, under pressure from the Liberal Democrat opposition, in a complete U-turn, the Conservative Councillors who sit on the Authority’s Leisure Review Panel, all spoke out and voted in favour of keeping the service in-house.
Cllr. David Harrison, Lib Dem Shadow Spokesman for Leisure told the panel, “There is no public clamour for handing over this excellent service over to commercial interests. The report before us highlights that staff are against the move, the schools don’t want it to happen and even the one Town Council consulted thought it a bad idea.”
The final decision on the future of the Health & Leisure Centres still rests with the Tory Council Cabinet. However, it would be difficult for the ruling cabinet to ignore the Review Panel recommendation. Ironically, by an accident of timing, it was announced, on the same day, that the District run service had been given a National Award for excellence of service.
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