RESIDENTS furious at the closure of their leisure centre are calling for a refund in their council tax to mirror the loss of services.

Glenholme Leisure Centre in Crook, which had a gym and swimming pool, was shut by Durham County Council on October 1, as part of cost-cutting measures.

Now residents are launching a petition calling for part of their council tax, which is allocated for sport and leisure, to be given back to them.

Graham Tomaszko, who has also launched a group looking at bringing the town’s closed community centres back into service, is one of those behind the petition.

He said: “Quite clearly, the bureaucrats in County Hall had no intention of keeping the centre open and would rather sell our assets to pay their wages and pensions.

“We pay approximately £70 a year in our rates for leisure facilities which no longer exist. It is about time we showed County Hall that they are there for our benefit.

“I would ask people to fill in the petition to show that we have had enough of being trodden on.”

Terry Collins, corporate director of neighbourhood services at the council, said the authority was still committed to providing leisure activities in the area despite the loss of the leisure centre.

He said: “We will ensure that classes such as GP referral schemes continue in alternative venues.

“In addition, we will support clubs and organisations to increase their offer to residents while also looking at how we can ourselves work with the local community to meet their needs.”

Meanwhile, campaigners who submitted a plan which would have seen the leisure centre remain are calling for questions to be answered.

Crook Community Partnership had a bid to take over the leisure centre rejected and now angry members want to know why.

John Winter, from the group, said: “The leisure centre will be demolished and that is the biggest act of vandalism this town has ever seen.

“We put forward a strong bid that matched the council’s criteria. They should tell the people who pay their wages and elect them exactly why it was rejected.”

Refund forms can be found at some shops in Crook and will soon be in Willington. They can also be downloaded from the Mohan Community Services page on Facebook.