FIVE Acres Leisure Centre will close at the end of the month – whether or not the Forest Council decides to buy the site on which it stands.

Current owners Homes England have offered the site, which also includes the former Gloucestershire College campus, to the Forest Council for £1.

The council’s Cabinet will decide tomorrow (Thursday) whether to ask the full council to approve the purchase – although an influential committee has called for the process to be delayed to allow an investigation of the potential liabilities.

A Conservative motion at the council’s scrutiny and overview committee expressed concern that if future plans are not viable, the authority could be faced with a £1 million bill to demolish the current buildings or having to pay £172,000 business rates a year on them.

But whatever the decision on the purchase, the leisure centre will close on Sunday, October 28, the committee was told by the council’s most senior legal officer.

Claire Hughes said: “A pound sounds like a good deal and it is considering what Homes England paid for it, but the site comes with some significant liabilities.

“There is the initial risk of securing the site, a potential for asbestos and there is a business rates liability after a six-month vacant period.

“After that, business rates are in the region of £172,000 if the buildings still stand and, really importantly, if the council decided to buy the land it would have no impact on the closure of the leisure centre, so that would still close on October 28. 

“It is the vision of the Cabinet and the community in that area that the site is redeveloped and that is the approach we are working to.”

If the Cabinet decides to go ahead, the full council would be asked to make a decision at its meeting on October 18 – along with approval to spend £150,000 to make the site secure and to carry out a feasibility study.

That study would be presented to the council in December – and Tories on the committee said that given the timeframe, Homes England should be asked to allow the feasibility study to be carried out before committing to the purchase.

Conservative group leader Cllr Brian Robinson (Mitcheldean) told the committee: “The fundamental thing that has come out is that the leisure facility will close this month. Have the implications of that to the local community been identified?”

He added: “If the study goes well, that is positive, but if it doesn’t go well we’ve got a situation where we have to pay £1 million to take the building down or pay £172,000 a year while we think what else we are doing.

“That is a big commitment. We could spend another £1 million on business rates quite easily while we are working it out.

“Can we avoid making a decision on it and do the feasibility study first? In the light of that we will know that £1 is a good deal or whether we might want to walk away.”

Ms Hughes said discussions with Homes England had taken place on the basis that agreement would be reached by the end of October.

Some councillors were concerned that asking for an extension could jeopardise the whole Five Acres project.

Cllr Bruce Hogan (Lab, Lydbrook and Ruardean) said: “I don’t mind asking the question but if the prevarication endangers the whole project that would be unacceptable.

“The danger is they (Homes England) will say: ‘We have made this generous offer, if you don’t take it somebody else can have it’. We are walking a tightrope.”

The committee agreed to ask the Cabinet to request more time.

Following the meeting, council leader Cllr Tim Gwilliam (Forest First, Berry Hill) accused the Tories of trying to prevent a success for his administration, labelling them “failed politicians”.

Cllr Robinson rejected the charge, saying that getting the business plan in place first would increase the chances of success.

Meanwhile, playing fields connected with the site have been handed over to two sports clubs.

The transfer of the management of the fields will allow the development of junior sections at Berry Hill Rugby Club and Broadwell Football Club, and keeps the dream alive of turning the site into a sports and community leisure hub.

The fields have been handed over to the parish by the Government quango as part of the prospective deal for the Forest Council to purchase the old leisure centre site.

Berry Hill RFC secretary Lee Osborne said: “We would like to thank the West Dean Parish Council and the Forest District Council in negotiating the purchase and hand over of the former Forest of Dean College playing fields for both the rugby and football clubs.”