Please read the official response to Cheshire East Council (CEC), Tatton MP Esther McVey & Councillors, Everybody Sport & Recreation (EHL) Everybody Health & Leisure who manage Knutsford Leisure Centre

kindly organised & Coordinated by Anna Beaver TM Hurricanes & Junior Development Coach Manager

November 2023
Dear All KJNC & Stakeholders
RE: Proposed Closure Knutsford Leisure Centre
As you will no doubt all have heard, the recent Strategic Leisure Review (link attached) by Cheshire East Council includes the proposal to withdraw subsidy from Knutsford Leisure Centre thereby forcing its closure in April 2024.
The formal process requires the council to meet on 9th November 2023 to discuss the review and take a decision on progressing it to public consultation. Public engagement will culminate in 6 weeks when a final decision will be taken. Whilst we cannot second guess this process, recent experience (closure of Stanley Centre) raises the concern that consultation may just be paying ‘lip service’ to public opinion.
Therefore, we would ask you to support the club and the town in contacting local councillors in advice of the meeting on the 9th Nov to ensure your voice is heard (contact details below). Obviously, you will want to voice your opposition in your own way, but we would ask you to draw attention to the following information:
• KJNC has almost 100 members with more on the waiting list. The club uses the Centre 4 night’s a week for their training sessions
• Availability of venues for Netball is very limited across the region – we are already forced to travel to Stockport and Warrington for all competition matches. There is not another venue within the Cheshire East patch to accommodate the club.
• We know that clubs in Neighbouring towns have waiting lists comparable to ours – they would not be able to absorb the club members. Even if this were possible, for many of our members travel time and costs to other venues would make the move untenable.
• At present we are a thriving club with league winning members. We are providing a fantastic opportunity for girls and young women to access sport. Evidence shows that this demographic is most likely to drop out of sport (womeninsport.) when this happens it can have an impact on their physical and mental wellbeing outcomes throughout their lives.
• The usage figures within the review do not include KJNC members – or those of the other clubs regularly using the Leisure centre. In addition, usage for birthday parties and similar activities are not been included raising questions about the reliability of the review.
• We are aware too, that an additional measure is the cost of utilities for all the Leisure Centres in the review. The figures for Knutsford include utility costs for Knutsford Academy, further raising question as to the validity of the review.

In addition to the impact for our players – the Leisure Centre is a hub for young children learning that vital life skill of swimming, older people accessing cardio rehabilitation programs and all sectors of the community in between. Please ensure your voice is heard, through whatever mediums you have available. We are a town full of bright, enthusiastic, articulate people – let’s use these talents to pull together and save our Leisure Centre.

KJNC is proud to work with England Netball and have teams ranging from Primary school to Teams in the under 17 Premier League supporting girls from over 10 primary & secondary Cheshire schools

Regards

KJNC Committee
www.kjnc.co.uk

Email addresses:
Hayley.Whitaker@cheshireeast.gov.uk
John.Bird@heshireeast.gov.uk
Mary.Brooks@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Linda.Buchanan@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Tony.dean@cheshireeast.gov.uk
ashley.farrall@cheshireeast.gov.uk
stewart.gardiner@cheshireeast.gov.uk
david.jefferay@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Becky.Posnett@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Heather.Sneddon@cheshireeast.gov.uk
lesley.smetham@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Judy.Snowball@cheshireeast.gov.uk
mick.warren@cheshireeast.gov.uk

You may also want to contact local Tatton M.P. & Member Paliament UK Government House of Commons Rt Hon Esther McVey esther.mcvey.MP@parliament.uk
and Knutsford Town Council: enquiries@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk FAO: Sandra Curties