HOPES that six council-run leisure centres could be saved from the axe appeared to be fading last night.

Durham County Council chiefs have raised serious concerns over nearly all of the takeover bids for the centres – giving campaigners only days to persuade them against recommending closure when decisions are taken next month.

Leisure bosses delivered the devastating blow to community groups and other interested parties in letters sent last night.

The Northern Echo: Map showing leisure centres facing closure.

Meanwhile, it also emerged that commercial interests had dealt a blow to hopes of keeping the centres open.

The only private company to submit a takeover bid, to run all six, has dramatically withdrawn after it concluded they could not be run profitably.

That leaves only 13 bids from nine groups, all community- based. However, few are considered viable in their current form.

Durham County Council is considering closing leisure centres in Sherburn, Coxhoe, Pity Me, Ushaw Moor, Ferryhill and Crook to save £1.3m a year.

Terry Collins, the council’s corporate director of neighbourhood services, said he was disappointed, but not entirely surprised at the commercial bidder’s exit.

He said officers had worked extremely hard with bidders throughout the process and had received positive feedback about that.

However, he said: “Having encouraged as many bids as possible, we have got a large number of concerns over some of the issues relevant to the criteria that we have set.”

It is understood those concerns relate to major flaws in bidders’ business plans, including overly ambitious income predictions, reliance on non-existent council funding and a failure to take account of employment law.

A bid involving the worldclass Deerness Gymnastics Club would be exempt from the law because it proposes a gymnastics academy, rather than continuing a leisure centre; and it is thought to be a front-runner for council support.

However, many other bids are less highly rated.

Lyndon Longhorne, a Paralympic swimming hopeful, has campaigned to save Crook’s leisure centre. His mother, Tammy Shevels, said last night that there was no way Lyndon would have learnt to swim without it.

She said: “If the pool closes there would be total devastation.”

Councillor Carol Woods, who is fighting to save Sherburn’s centre, said: “I am seriously disappointed. It beggars belief. So many people want to keep the centre open.”

John Hepplewhite, who is campaigning for Coxhoe leisure centre, said its bid was realistic and that the community had a track record of attracting funding.

A 12-week public consultation ended last month, leading to ten groups submitting 19 takeover bids.

Among the bids, Spectrum Leisure and Management (Slam), which runs Spectrum leisure centre, in Willington, wanted to take over centres in Pity Me, Sherburn, Coxhoe and Ferryhill.

There are also communityled campaigns to save Crook, Coxhoe and Pity Me centres.

Sherburn is the subject of two community proposals – one promising more facilities than the other. The identities of the remaining three bidders are unknown.

The Labour-run council faces cuts of £125m over four years, including £67m this year.

All its leisure centres are run at a loss; and it has more centres per head of population than neighbouring councils, particularly in the Durham City area.

Final decisions on the futures of the six leisure centres will be taken by Durham County Council on July 13.