LIBDEM PPC CALLS FOR LEISURE SUMMIT TO FORM PART OF REVIEW

After last Thursday's meeting of Rossendale Borough Council agreed a way forward for leisure, LibDem Parliamentary candidate Dale Mulgrew has fully praised the decision.

He also welcomes the setting up of an independent review, but as part of this re-examination of leisure and culture he has called for the Council's leader to meet with representatives of other successful leisure trusts.

Mr Mulgrew suggests that as part of the wider scrutiny of leisure that representatives from SPORTA should be invited to a summit with the leadership of Rossendale Council, so that they are aware of what can be achieved through high performing leisure trusts.

Mr Mulgrew, who attended last Thursday's Council meeting, said, 'the decision of the Council to give a lifeline to the leisure facilities under threat was a triumph of sense over folly. I acknowledge the efforts of the Leader of the Council and his move to make good what was clearly going to turn into a torrent of despair if the closures had gone ahead.'

He continued, 'At the Council meeting I managed to speak to the chief executive of the Rossendale Leisure Trust and expressed to him that I could not understand why in Rochdale the Council is fully supportive of its leisure trust, whereas in Rossendale it is clear the Council is not as supportive?'

'Also, in Rochdale they have either built, or are committed to build, several new leisure centres and as a result sports participation is on the up since the inception of their trust - the contrast with Rossendale after the last couple of months could not be more stark.'

'Last Thursday I heard a lot about the plans for an independent review on leisure, but I did not hear anything about inviting successful leisure trusts to come to Rossendale to see if there is anything the Valley's Trust could be doing differently?'

'This was part of the plan I put forward for consideration and as the chair of SPORTA is only down the road in Rochdale, than really the council leadership should seize this opportunity and invite representatives from this industry leading organisation to a summit, so they can receive a perspective on how leisure trusts can really benefit Rossendale.'

ENDS

Notes - The national federation of leisure Trusts is an organisation called SPORTA, which stands for 'social enterprises within sport and leisure.' The chair of this organisation, Mr Craig McAteer, is the chief executive of the leisure Trust that Rochdale MBC set up in April of 2007 called 'Link4life.'

More information on - Link4life http://www.link4life.co.uk SPORTA www.sporta.org