Date of Oakham’s Catmose Sports Centre closure revealed by Rutland County Council

A date for the closure of a sports centre has been confirmed.

Rutland County Council, at a meeting last month, voted to close Catmose Sports Centre instead of using money allocated for flood management to keep it open.

The centre will shut to the public for the final time on Friday, May 31, which is the day the council’s contract with operator Stevenage Leisure Limited (SLL) comes to an end.

The covid pandemic and the ongoing energy crisis had forced the council to provide Catmose Sports Centre with significant financial support.

It was agreed last March that services would continue to be funded up to March 31, 2025, provided a new model could be found, a key requirement of which was that any future contract was that the centre runs at no cost to either Rutland County Council or Catmose College, which owns the buildings.

The council says it can no longer afford this over an indefinite period. It has spent more than £801,00 keeping the centre afloat during the last four years.

After struggling to come to a decision, councillors finally made their choice when they were asked to choose between saving the leisure or investment in a climate change officer and pro-active flood management.

Council leader Gale Waller (Lib Dem) said: “Following two separate procurement exercises, it’s clear there is no way to award a new leisure contract without incurring considerable costs to the council and local taxpayers for at least the next 10 years.”

The owner of the sports centre building, Catmose College, has been approached by community groups asking if the school will offer leisure facilities to the public.

“We are sympathetic to these requests, but we have not had time to consider if this is possible or practicable as we have only just been informed of the council’s decision,” said a spokesperson for the school.

“The funding the college receives is public money, for the purpose of educating students and cannot be used to subsidise community sport.

“We would therefore have to be sure if we were to offer community sport that the income this generates would at least cover our costs including staffing, utility, insurance, equipment and maintenance.”

They added that the council’s goal to find a contractor to run the facilities at nil-cost was unsuccessful, and when the college previously managed the facilities it was always at a loss.

Any clubs or groups needing information about alternative facilities in the county should contact activerutland@rutland.gov.uk.