AROUND 100 children and their parents gathered at Five Acres near Coleford to show their support for two local facilities which they fear could be closed.

There is concern about the future of the Freedom Leisure Centre and the Little Stars Nursery, which are on the site of the former Gloucestershire College.

The immediate future of the leisure centre looks less uncertain after the government agency which owns the site, Homes England, said it would allow the centre to continue to operate until the end of October.

The quango intends to sell the land to the Forest Council and West Dean Parish Council which has been campaigning for severak years to ensure the future of community facilities on the site.

But the future of the nursery, which cares for around 70 children, is uncertain as its lease expires at the end of this month.

Local people gathered on the field behind the college buildings on Friday afternoon (June 29) to demand the facilities are given a long-term future.

Among the parents at the protest was Zoe Wood who has a child at the nursery and who uses the leisure centre.

Mrs Wood, who is also a member of the FANS (Five Acres Not For Sale campaign group) said: “Both my children are or were at the nursery and we use the leisure centre quite a bit.

“There is a massive issue with child obesity yet we are trying to close down a leisure centre in a rural area which hasn’t got great connections to the bigger towns.

“There are currently 230 children learning to swim, 31 clubs which use the facility on a daily and weekly basis and for all ages, from my daughter who is 13 months to a leisure centre member who is 90.

“For us it is critical we have some leisure facilities. They are depriving our children of the life skill of swimming. It is not fair. Why are we going to lose our leisure facilities when we use them?

“We’ve got plans in the pipeline, got fantastic support from local businesses and local residents.

“There are 70 families who depend on that nursery and it is one of the few nurseries around here that do the 30 hours government funding.”