CALLS have been made for Anglesey Council to consider offloading all of its leisure centres in a bid to save other vital services.

As a non-statutory service, leisure on the island has faced a 60% budget cut over the last three years which has meant the closure of some facilities including Llangefni golf course.

Despite the cuts, officers have also invested into some facilities and improved customer service, resulting in the leisure centres at Amlwch, Llangefni, Menai Bridge and Holyhead all staying open.

But one community, which was forced to take over its leisure centre, has urged the authority to consider a similar model elsewhere to achieve further savings.

In 2013, Canolfan Beaumaris was saved from closure after the local friends group negotiated a takeover, including a transfer of staff.

The facility was threatened with closure in February 2012 as the authority – then under the control of Welsh Government appointed commissioners, looked to make cutbacks in non-statutory services.

Eventually a deal was agreed in December of that year with the new Friends of Canolfan Beaumaris taking over in April 2013 – becoming the only leisure centre on the island to be taken out of council control.

While the centre was initially given a £20,000 a year from Anglesey Council for its first three years, Canolfan Beaumaris is now largely self sustaining and attracts 42,000 visitors a year.

It has been so successful that plans are in the pipeline for a £1m investment into the facilities.

During a meeting of Beaumaris Town Council on Monday, some members urged Anglesey Council to consider asking other communities to take over their own centres as part of an island-wide effort to find savings.

The authority has warned residents to expect council tax hikes of anywhere up to 10% next year as it tries to plug a budget gap of £7m following years of dwindling settlements from Cardiff Bay.

Cllr Stan Zalot said, “If the council did something with the swimming pools and sports halls, it could help keep schools such as Beaumaris open and other vital services.

“Four leisure centres on a little island like ours, five if you count Beaumaris. Do we really need them all?

“When we keep things like that to the detriment of schools, I think things are going the wrong way.”

Cllr Alistair Grant added, “We were told in 2011 that Beaumaris would be the first, not the only leisure centre to close.

“Where’s the fairness in that? The other centres had money spent on them and yet we saw no reduction in our rates.”

But Cllr Clay Theakston had reservations over such proposals, adding: “I’m slightly uncomfortable with the idea of writing a letter which deliberately undermines services in other localities.

“I don’t think we’d like it if it were reversed and feel uncomfortable in suggesting that other areas should lose their leisure centres, but suggesting they are re-evaluated as social enterprise may be fairer.”

Anglesey Council says it is planning to further invest, with public feedback to play a key role as it considers how its leisure centres and sports facilities should improve future well-being.

Commercial Leisure Manager, Gerallt Roberts, said, “We’d like to see new investment in the Island’s leisure centres and sport facilities over the coming years so that they can enable communities to become more active and healthy.”

“This new public consultation forms part of a wider leisure review to help us understand more about current local needs, which will be key if we are also to meet future demands.”

The online survey is available at www.anglesey.gov.uk with hard copies also available at leisure centres. The closing date for comment is January 4, 2019.