Council leaders have called for a strategy to save leisure centres after a post-Olympics sports boom failed to materialise.
A new report by the Public Accounts Commitee said the legacy aims of the £8.8bn London Olympics have 'failed to materialise' as it found around 70% of local authorities were considering scaling back their leisure services due to increased running costs.
Chair of the Local Government Association's culture, tourism and sport board, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, called for an ‘asset strategy' to protect local leisure facilities.
He said: ‘The future of leisure facilities is under threat and this report highlights the need for an asset strategy that will preserve the future of these key council services.
‘The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities need to work with us and councils to ensure the sustainability of leisure facilities.'
