Council criticised after scrapping Chester-le-Street leisure centre

Durham County Council has admitted its disappointment over the decision but ultimately revealed it cannot finance the previously pledged projects. 

The local authority revealed plans to build new sites in Seaham and Chester-le-Street and make a raft of improvements elsewhere in the county in 2020 as part of an ambitious redevelopment programme. 

The former Civic Centre site in the North Durham town was chosen three years ago alongside plans to redevelop the Deneside facility in Seaham. Upgrades to leisure centres including the Riverside in Chester-le-Street were also proposed but have now hit an impasse. 

Last week, the council warned fulfilling the whole leisure transformation programme would cost £109 million - significantly more than first estimated. 

But local councillors say residents will continue to travel outside the region due to the lack of sufficient facilities. 

The Riverside Leisure Centre site in Chester-le-Street (Image: The Northern Echo)

Labour’s Alison Batey told a scrutiny meeting: “It’s a massive disappointment.” 

She added: “There are 56,000 residents in the Chester-le-Street area, covered by 14 elected members in the wider authority. I firmly believe nobody should be disadvantaged with where they live, but I feel like Chester-le-Street is the poor relation in this.”

Bill Moist, Independent councillor for Chester-le-Street North, said the town’s leisure centre was the easiest site for the council to build, but work never started. 

He said the declining state of the facility means it is now just “four squash courts joined onto a swimming pool.” 

“We’re failing the people of County Durham,” he added.  

The council allocated £10 million for improvements to the two sites in February but a review found improvements across both sites would be unaffordable given the buildings’ condition.

And members were told at the Monday meeting that the money is unlikely to be spent on significantly upgrading the leisure centre. 

Pelton’s cllr Batey added: “In my opinion, there’s no reason why Chester-le-Street leisure centre didn’t break ground first, simply because we have consistently been told by officers that the current site is not fit for purpose: it’s old, it’s antiquated, and the boiler system was on its last legs.”

Last year, Chester-le-Street Labour councillors and former MP Kevan Jones urged the council to act on its leisure centre promise (Image: The Northern Echo)

The local authority continues to be impacted by financial pressures, however, yet council officials pointed to the work carried out elsewhere in the county. 

Amy Harhoff, corporate director of regeneration and growth, said: “We are deeply disappointed we couldn’t deliver the programme in the way that we had initially anticipated, and particularly those major builds in Seaham and Chester-le-Street, and fully acknowledge the disappointment among communities. 

“We need to remember that Durham, unlike many of its neighbours, has still committed to investment of £62 million in leisure facilities, and it is important we acknowledge the successes with the programme alongside those challenges from the areas that haven’t benefited quite so much. 

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Conservative member David Sutton-Lloyd defended the council’s decision. “In a lovely world where money is unlimited we would like to get this but, regrettably, decisions have to be made,” he said. 

“It is good that lots of other areas are not doing anything, and we’ve still been able to maintain a programme. It was likely to be better, but it is important we try to focus on making sure the areas get the support continually and we keep pushing that. 

“It is an awful situation but there isn’t unlimited money. We will all hold our hands up and say what happened with Covid was totally out of the blue and the seismic changes are still happening and we have to live with them unfortunately.”