Wolverhampton Central Baths saved

A plan to safeguard the future of the baths and boost its fortunes has been backed by council chiefs.

Central Baths had been threatened with closure as part of £123 million cuts being made in the city over the next five years.

A new strategy has now been unveiled to boost the number of users at the baths – the most heavily subsidised of the city's three leisure centres. It includes revamping the reception area at the Bath Avenue centre, offering swimming lessons for children for 50 weeks rather than 39 weeks and refurbishing the changing rooms.

A new single phone number will also be introduced for all three council-run leisure centres, as well as computerised booking system.

The catering kiosk at Central Baths will also be refurbished and will open at weekends, while a catering counter will be created at Aldersley Leisure Village.

The plan was drawn up following consultation with Sport England and the Amateur Swimming Association and was approved at a behind-closed-doors meeting last night.

Campaigners today welcomed news the future of Central Baths had been saved.

A petition with more than 6,000 names had been handed in to the city council against the proposed closure.

Carol Bailey, who helped lead the fight, said: "This is marvellous news, I am delighted that the council has listened to petitioners. People in Wolverhampton need somewhere to swim. When the baths closed in 2012 for five months of repairs a lot of people gave up swimming.

"This isn't just a facility that's used by the people of Wolverhampton, it's a gala venue and our petition showed support from 14 counties across England and Wales," she said.

"We began this fight in October with a petition on an A4 piece of paper and within 24 hours, we had collected more than 100 signatures.

Central Baths and the council's other two leisure centres, Bert Williams in Bilston and Aldersley Leisure Village, will all be run with a more commercial focus now.

The three are currently subsidised by taxpayers to the tune of around £2 million a year. Wolverhampton City Council is making savings of £123 million over the next five years, and has blamed central government cuts.

Councillor Elias Mattu, the city's leisure chief, said: "The baths are here to stay. Closure was the last thing anyone wanted. I made a pledge that I would do everything in my power to find a solution and I'm absolutely thrilled that the baths will remain open.

"We have a new management team in place running our leisure centres and we've worked with Sport England and the Amateur Swimming Association as well as the campaigners fighting for Central Baths to look at new ideas and ways of working.

"We will run our leisure centres commercially – putting the customer first and giving them a product that they want at the right price."

Sport England and the Amateur Swimming Association advised the three leisure centres had potential to generate more income than they currently do.

Cabinet last night agreed to support the leisure centres becoming the leading provider of fitness in the area. Branding and marketing will be improved and staff will be trained to the highest standards, the council has said. Children's swimming lessons will be offered for 50 weeks instead of 39, reception areas will be revamped and decluttered, a single telephone number introduced to make sure all calls are answered and a computerised booking system brought in.

Different types of swimming and fitness activities will be offered at specific times to attract more people in, while changing rooms at Central Baths will be refurbished.