Council leader defends "shambles" decision over leisure services

Powys Council leader, Cllr James Gibson-Watt, a Liberal Democrat, has explained why the decision to consult on cuts to Leisure Services and the swimming pools in Powys has been postponed.

This follows an earlier article where the decision was described as a shambles by some opposing councillors.

This morning, it was revealed that the item to decide on the consultation regarding four options to slim down leisure provision in the county has been pulled from next Tuesday’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet meeting.

It had been expected that a decision to proceed with the public consultation on the options, before making an ultimate decision probably next summer, would be taken by the Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet at their meeting next Tuesday, November 26.

Cllr Gibson-Watt said: “I have withdrawn the leisure review paper from next week’s Cabinet agenda so that further discussions can be held with group leaders, scrutiny chairs, and others before the report is considered by Cabinet.”

This followed a fiery joint Scrutiny Committee meeting on Thursday and yesterday, where councillors from across the political spectrum, including several Liberal Democrats, united to criticize proposals to cut leisure service provision in Powys.

They unanimously recommended that the report is not ready to go to the Cabinet for a decision.

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service