THE Cabinet Member for Service Delivery and Continuous Improvement at Mid Devon District Council has issued a statement concerning the closure of the Cullompton Leisure Centre.

Councillor Josh Wright said: “As many of you are already aware our popular leisure centre in Cullompton has been closed since Friday, July 4, following the arrival of a large number of travellers on a nearby field.

“While the travellers are not on our land, the Council took the decision to close because our centre has easy access to showering and toilet facilities, which in the past have been damaged and misused under similar circumstances.

“Our staff have also received verbal abuse and direct threats to damage Council property have also been made.

“The police have been made aware of these threats and while this behaviour is ongoing we have been advised by them and other external agencies that it is not safe to open.

“This is not a decision taken lightly.

“The Council always strives to offer a high class leisure service to our customers and any closure also has a financial cost to us.

“However, we cannot open when threats have been made, and we have a duty of care to provide safe and welcoming facilities for our users, which includes children and nearby schools.

“I am saddened we remain closed but in the circumstances it is the right decision.

“As a Council we are revisiting options to install preventative measures, but this is not as straightforward as it may seem on the face of it.

“Many of our sites are used by schools, require bus access and their layout means we do not have a simple way of blocking vehicle access for some, while maintaining easy access for others.

“We are also aware that often, despite the cost of implementing preventative measures, this can sometimes lead to more property being damaged. We will however, review any options that may be available to us.

“The Council has also looked into using security staff, in the short term, to allow the centre to open, but due to the nature of threats to the property and users, we feel the risk posed to our customers would remain too high, even with a security presence.

“Like our loyal customers, I continue to be frustrated by the closure of the leisure centre.

“While the Council is encouraging our customers to use neighbouring facilities in Tiverton or Crediton, which remain fully open, I appreciate this is not an option for everyone and the Council is looking at ways we can say thank you to our customers for their patience during this current closure.

“The Council is also continuing to work with the landowner, in this case Devon County Council, to pursue the legal path to move the travellers on, which will allow us to reopen and welcome our customers back. Thank you for your continued patience.”