Derbyshire council continues to face losses over leisure centre
The parish council took out loans of almost £3m from the government and Bolsover District Council to build the centre. But the cost of running the facility soon became a cause for concern and the council ordered an external investigation into its finances, which was published earlier this year. It said there were "large and systemic failure to follow basic legal obligations" that left councillors potentially liable to prosecution. A further investigation was then carried out by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC).It did not find any evidence that warranted prosecutions, but estimated the running the centre and repaying the loans were costing the council £10,400 per week.
The centre's income was just over £100,000 in the last financial year, which is roughly the same as its salary costs alone, according to documents released to residents under the Freedom of Information Act, which have been seen by the BBC. The documents also show the council's total spending on the centre was £200,000 in the last financial year and it needed to subsidise the facility to the tune of £70,000 each financial quarter.A repayment plan is also now in place to keep the council from defaulting on its debts.
The problems with the leisure centre led the council to increase its council tax precept by 323% over the last two years, taking its charge to a Band D home from £172.05 in 2023/24 to £557.09 in 2025/26.NALC say the council has no choice but to increase its share of council tax bills because the leisure centre's income does not cover its running costs.
The charitable trust set up to run the centre will soon be dissolved after officers concluded it was not "able to carry out the functions it was set up to perform". Day-to-day running is expected to be taken over by Bolsover District Council, which is expected to make a number of structural changes in an effort to bring down costs. There are currently no discussions between the two councils on offloading the centre to a third party operator, after NALC warned the move could incur costs for the parish elsewhere.
A spokesperson for Bolsover District Council said: "Bolsover District Council and Elmton with Creswell Parish Council are currently discussing detail around day-to-day management of the Heritage and Wellbeing Centre. "The prime intention is to sustain facility access to the general public, with operating costs being met by the Parish Council."
The chair of a local residents' group, Cris Carr, said that there is increasing anger among residents that they are being asked to "pay more and more with no meaningful way to challenge what's happening".He added: "The latest report suggests costs are continuing to spiral, and many now fear another rise in the precept is inevitable — even as living costs bite hard."Residents are struggling to understand how a Parish Council — traditionally responsible for Christmas lights and hanging baskets — could commit an entire village to millions of pounds in future liabilities without any form of democratic safeguard or community consent."Yet not a single Parish Councillor believes they've done anything wrong."
The parish council said in a statement it "understands and shares residents' concerns" and is addressing them through "greater transparency, financial discipline, and community engagement"."For Quarter 1 of the 2025/26 financial year, the Heritage and Wellbeing Centre received a subsidy of £70,253.12, coming in under the budgeted figure of £80,485.00", it said."This marks the second year running in which the overall deficit has reduced in real terms, as part of the Council's active work to bring costs down."Our focus is on bringing down the precept and reducing the impact on council tax bills."
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