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Group nears funding goal to save leisure centre

BBC A blonde-haired woman, wearing a blue and black blouse, standing in a gym reception area with a wooden desk and door in the backgroundBBC
Sian Powell said fundraisers would return in autumn with "renewed energy" and ideas to raising the final £2,000

A group trying to save a leisure centre said it is nearing its fundraising target thanks to the "incredible support of our community".

Cleobury Mortimer's leisure centre was at risk of closure last year after Shropshire Council withdrew an annual grant worth £23,500, due to funding pressures.

Sian Powell, from the Friends of Cleobury Sports Centre, said they just needed to raise £2,000 during the autumn to keep the venue open until August 2027.

After that date, the centre will form part of the council's new countywide leisure contract.

Powell, who launched a petition to save the centre in September 2025, said the community at first raised £15,000 to keep the centre open until April 2026.

It then raised £29,000 towards the remaining £46,000 needed, with an expected contribution of £15,000 from Cleobury Mortimer Town Council "following the fantastic public support for the council tax precept", she explained.

"This really shows what can be achieved when a community comes together. We are so grateful to everyone who has donated, attended events, bought raffle tickets, volunteered and supported us in so many different ways," said Powell.

The group will take a short summer break and return in the autumn with "renewed energy and plenty of new ideas as we continue our efforts to secure the sports centre's future," she told supporters on Facebook.

A sports hall with a green floor and people playing volleyball on either side of a high net, with a woman with short brown hair and a blue hoodie in the foreground
The town's volleyball club is among users of the centre

Last June, Teme Leisure, which runs the centre on behalf of Shropshire Council, said it would be handing back the contract after a grant was stopped by the previous Conservative administration.

The new Liberal Democrat-run council said last year it could not reinstate the funding due to financial pressures.

It has since praised the "extraordinary" passion and dedication shown by the Friends of Cleobury Sports Centre.

The centre will form part of its countywide leisure contract, which takes effect from August 2027.

The authority wants to simplify its offering by bringing as many of its leisure centres as possible under one contract in hope of finding savings.

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