'Services at risk unless tennis centre goes'

A LEADING councillor has said that keeping a city sports centre open could hit frontline services.

The Post revealed yesterday that plans to close Swansea Tennis Centre are within the local authority's draft budget, which aims to plug a £17 million funding gap.

If approved, the centre will shut down — making a saving for the authority of £50,000.

However, Swansea Council's cabinet member for culture, recreation and tourism has suggested that other services are under threat if the centre stays open.

Councillor Graham Thomas said: "These are tough financial times when we have to prioritise some services over others and a proposal to keep Swansea Tennis Centre open might have led to cuts in frontline services."

However, the news has enraged centre users, who say it provides a vital service to the city, giving hundreds of people, young and old, the chance to exercise.

Tennis coach Arthur Billington began collecting names for a petition to save the centre as soon as the threat was revealed.

In one day he had collected over 100 signatures, saying people were "devastated" at the situation.

Mr Billington, who has been coaching at the Morfa centre since it opened 22 years ago, said: "When you think that we have got seven swimming pools in the area, it does not seem right.

"It is the only place that we have got. If we close it there's nowhere at all for us to go.

"Not everybody can afford to go to the Glamorgan.

"The people I spoke to at the centre were very angry to think it was going to be closed."

This is not the first time the future of the centre has been called into question.

In 2005, more than 1,000 people signed a petition against the redevelopment of the centre.

The angry tennis fans were opposed to controversial plans for the Morfa centre which would have seen the loss of three of the existing four inside courts and the creation of a multi-use hall.

Now, with the centre facing total closure, Mr Billington said he is hoping for even more support. "We had more than 1,200 signatures to keep the centre before," he said. "I'm looking to get more than that now."

Mr Billington, aged 76, added that, while people of all ages use the centre, introducing young people to sport is about more than finding the next Wimbledon champion.

"They talk about tackling obesity don't they. This (closing the centre) is a step in the wrong direction.

"Also this keeps children off the streets and keeps them off drugs."

Councillor Thomas said: "It's wrong to suggest that the proposed closure of Swansea Tennis Centre could lead to increased child obesity given the range of services the council provides.

"This includes free swimming in school holidays, access to a range of sports at our leisure centres and the chance to try orienteering and other alternative activities.

"Many alternative tennis courts are available in Swansea and we'll continue to work alongside Tennis Wales to ensure the provision of high-quality facilities is maintained."

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