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Gloucester residents have until noon this Friday to ask questions ahead of the extraordinary meeting which will disclose the sudden closure of GL1 leisure centre and Oxstalls Sports Park.
The GL1 leisure centre and Oxstalls sports park closed suddenly on September 29 with the loss of more than 150 jobs after Aspire Sports and Cultural Trust decided not to renew its contract with Gloucester City Council and to go into liquidation.
Since then, the city council has come up with a plan to reopen the facilities as soon as possible and bring an interim leisure provider in to run the services until a long term contract is awarded next year.
“Some facilities at Oxstalls have already been reopened thanks to the University of Gloucestershire working with the council.
However, an extraordinary meeting will take place at North Warehouse next week which will allow councillors to ask questions about the debacle.
This meeting was called after a request by the Liberal Democrat opposition on the council.
Councillor Sebastian Field (LD, Podsmead), who is their group culture and leisure spokesman, said: “At the extraordinary meeting we will be challenging the Conservative administration to reopen our sports facilities.
“It’s clear they were inattentive and careless over their dealings with the Aspire Trust and now it is the people of Gloucester who are again paying the price for the failures of this Conservative administration.”
The Labour group on the city council has been raising concerns about the financial struggles Aspire has faced over the last year.
And Councillor Alastair Chambers (I, Matson, Robinswood and White City) has called on residents who have concerns over what has happened at GL1 and Oxstalls to ask questions of the council.
“We need this situation to be transparent and in the public domain. We need our residents’ questions answered and not swept under the carpet.
“So I request you all to question the city council on how they did this monumental cock up and to ask them to make sure this series of severe mistakes and mismanagement will never happen again.
Culture and leisure cabinet member Andy Lewis (C, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) says the Tory administration is not to blame for what has happened to Aspire Sports and Cultural Trust.
However, they are working hard to reopen the facilities as soon as possible.
He said: “I was in the meetings with Aspire at a strategic level and we gave them exactly what they asked us for in accordance with their business plan and they refused it. What are we supposed to do?
“We are disappointed but we are just going to get on with the job and get GL1 and Oxstalls fully operational as soon as possible but not at [Cllr Jeremy] Hilton speed.”
Aspire bosses said they had to take the difficult decision to go into liquidation as they felt unable to trade legally as a going concern.
“The charity has faced increasing financial pressures in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic and the rapid rise in utility costs and inflation.”
People wishing to ask a question of council leaders must email it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by noon on Friday October 13.
Those asking questions can attend to ask the question themselves, or ask for someone else to read it out for them.
The relevant cabinet member or committee chair will answer the question at the meeting.
Residents who ask a question but don’t attend the meeting will be sent a copy of the answer after the meeting.
The extraordinary meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 6.30pm at North Warehouse in The Docks on Thursday October 19.
By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk
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