PARALYMPIC champion Andy Lewis has slammed plans to close down Five Acres Leisure Centre and swimming pool as “disgraceful.”

The Lydney-based triathlon star is furious that a report to the Forest Council’s Cabinet calls for funding to be withdrawn from the facility from the start of the school summer holidays and the buildings bulldozed.

The Rio Paralympic champion says it flies in the face of the government’s initiative to tackle childhood obesity, and “the community needs to stick together” to fight the closure.

The report being considered tomorrow (Thursday, March 8) urges councillors to stop emergency funding at the “deteriorating” leisure centre site from the end of July, and focus on redeveloping it in the long-term as a cultural and sporting centre of excellence, including a hotel and restaurant.

Twenty four jobs will be under threat if the closure recommendation is passed, which calls for the council to invest its money in acquiring and clearing Five Acres.

Andy Lewis, who is currently mentoring sporting youngsters in Abu Dhabi, stormed on Facebook: “Absolutely disgraceful, so much for the Government’s plans - the FoD council should be ashamed of themselves.”

The MBE added: “This sort of thing really winds me up... today nearly a third of children aged two to 15 are overweight or obese.”

If Five Acres shuts, several clubs will be hit, including Coleford Swimming Club, as well as Five Acres High School who use the facilities.

Council chiefs discovered a £300,000 black hole in the finances last autumn after funding to run the facility was not included in the year’s council budget because of uncertainty over the site.

Gloucestershire College is due to quit Five Acres for the new Cinderford Northern Quarter campus in Sep-

tember.

And councillors are being urged to negotiate the purchase of the Berry Hill site from the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency and agree £1.5m of expenditure to bulldoze the leisure centre and college buildings to avoid business rates, after removing any asbestos.

There is no indication of what will happen to the theatre if the leisure centre closes, while the playing fields would be transferred to West Dean Parish Council.

Council leader Cllr Tim Gwilliam (Forest First, Berry Hill) fought to save the leisure centre several years ago and helped found FANS – Five Acres Not for Sale.

But the new report recommending closure – presented by Cllr Richard Leppington (UKIP, Bream), Cabinet Member for Development, Asset Management, Infrastructure and Housing, and Cllr Roger James (Forest First, Coleford East), Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance, Performance and Shared Working - says: “Members should consider whether they wish to invest the £500,000 held in the capital programme into this deteriorating facility or whether to retain the money for use in the development of a new centre.

“If members agree to take ownership of the site, and cease to fund the leisure facilities with effect from August 2018 then consideration needs to be given to clearing the site, as retention of the buildings would attract business rates liability of circa £57,000 in 2018/19 and £172,000 in 2019/20.”

It adds: “Indicative pricing from a specialist contractor shows the cost of clearing all college buildings will be circa £1.13m or £1.25m to include the leisure centre, subject to making an asbestos survey available to enable the contractor to identify the presence of asbestos containing materials.”

To keep the leisure centre operational in the medium term would need an upfront capital investment of £263,000 from the council, followed by yearly payments of around £96,000 over a five-year period – more than £750,000 in total – or an average annual fee of around £152,000 per year to a private operator.

If no investment was made it would cost at least £12,000 a month to run in the short-term, with the risk of boiler break downs and other problems,

The report continues: “If Cabinet are minded not to fund the centre from August 2018 then the facilities will cease to be operational and therefore close at the end of July 2018.

“Cabinet are currently in discussions with a national hotel chain about a potential development on this site, which coupled with a restaurant or shop will provide a great enhancement to the area.”