Outrage at pool closure plan
TUAM and Ballinasloe Leisure Centres look set to become casualties of Covid-19 with plans to temporarily close both facilities from the end of next month.
The Tuam pool and gym complex, which opened in 2005, is operating at only 25 per cent of its pre- Covid numbers and council officials say it is unsustainable for it to remain open in the short term. Figures for Ballinasloe show it has only 30 per cent of footfall compared to the start of the year.
Addressing members at a meeting of Galway County Council last Friday, the Director of Services for Economic, Rural and Community Development, Alan Farrell, said no decision had been taken but that it was looking increasingly likely that a temporary closure of both Tuam and Ballinasloe Leisure Centres would be implemented.
“It’s obvious that Covid is causing huge difficulties to both Ballinasloe and Tuam leisure centres and we are in discussions with the operators on an ongoing basis to address the significant gap between the funding provided in our budget and what it takes to run both centres,” he said.
The Tuam pool and gym complex, which opened in 2005, is operating at only 25 per cent of its pre- Covid numbers and council officials say it is unsustainable for it to remain open in the short term. Figures for Ballinasloe show it has only 30 per cent of footfall compared to the start of the year.
Addressing members at a meeting of Galway County Council last Friday, the Director of Services for Economic, Rural and Community Development, Alan Farrell, said no decision had been taken but that it was looking increasingly likely that a temporary closure of both Tuam and Ballinasloe Leisure Centres would be implemented.
“It’s obvious that Covid is causing huge difficulties to both Ballinasloe and Tuam leisure centres and we are in discussions with the operators on an ongoing basis to address the significant gap between the funding provided in our budget and what it takes to run both centres,” he said.