Swimming pools in Macclesfield and Poynton could be privatised as part of sweeping changes to council leisure services.

Cheshire East currently spends £9m a year on 15 leisure centres across the borough including Macclesfield Leisure Centre on Priory Lane, Upton Priory. But CEC wants to reduce this amount as part of a three-year spending squeeze.

Leisure bosses are looking at a number of options to save cash including:

  • Leasing leisure centres to private firms or an existing trust to run
  • Forming a charitable trust or arms-length company that would operate them 
  • Transferring parts of them to town and parish councils.

Under all the options, the council would retain ownership of the building and facilities, with the authority paying the third party a ‘management fee’ to run them.

A council spokesman said yesterday they expected all staff to be transferred to any new body created under the changes.

Residents and service users are being consulted over the next four weeks on what their preferred option would be. But the proposals were dismissed as ‘desperate’ by Coun Ken Edwards, Labour councillor for Macclesfield Central.

He said: “I am deeply disappointed. All of these options are experiments. I think the charitable trust idea could work but only in exceptional circumstances.

“You can’t just simply off-load them and hope something turns up. These are desperate measures.”

Councillors on CEC’s health and adult social care policy development group have already given their support to the idea of a charitable trust.

Michael Jones, council leader, said: “Leisure services are important to our communities, this is why I want to get residents’ thoughts on the best way of improving on and enhancing our current offering.

“Research shows that one well-established way of delivering these services, popular with other local authorities, is that of a charitable trust.

“We want to hear what residents think about this and I would encourage them to go online and fill in the questionnaire.”

Coun Janet Clowes, cabinet member in charge of health and adult social care, added: “We are confident that a third party organisation would be able to deliver leisure services in a more efficient and targeted way, leading to improved services that will also increase health benefits.”

The plans are part of the council’s strategic commissioning drive, which will see several services transferred to third parties in a bid to improve efficiency.

For more information on the plans, visit the website - www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/leisureoptions .

Residents can email comments to leisureoptions@cheshireeast.gov.uk or write to Leisure and Cultural Services, 2nd Floor, Westfields, Sandbach, CW11 1HZ. The consultation closes on Friday, April 19.