Council chiefs quizzed over leisure and library cuts

Chris Haines – ICNN Senedd reporter

Council chiefs warned of “no fat left to cut” with leisure centres and libraries across Wales facing the threat of closure due to “unprecedented” financial constraints.

The Senedd culture committee took evidence from councils on October 24 as part of an inquiry on the impact of cuts on the arts, culture and sport.

Emily Owen, deputy leader of Conwy council, said: “Everything’s on the table that isn’t statutory at the moment, we’re in that much of a difficult financial situation.”

The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), the national voice of Wales’ 22 councils, warned spending on culture, recreation and libraries has fallen by up to 43% over a decade.

Cllr Owen said: “Last year, our economy and culture service had a 20% cut and the year before it had an 11% cut. That’s a serious amount of money that has gone from services.”

‘Epidemic’

With the WGLA warning of a £432m funding gap across Welsh councils, Cllr Owen told the committee the council is trying to avoid closing leisure centres.

“We strongly believe that once they’re gone, they’re gone,” she said.

The Labour councillor cautioned cuts have had a considerable direct impact on participation of the most vulnerable people amid a mental health epidemic.

“It’s really not good,” she said. “If we’re having to remove facilities and access for people to be able to manage their mental health and wellbeing … we are having a really big impact.”

She pointed to plans to turn Venue Cymru in Llandudno into a culture hub, hosting library services, tourist information and welfare benefits advice.

Cllr Owen said the council is awaiting news on a bid for funding from the UK Government but “if that’s been pulled, we can’t go ahead”.

‘£60m gap’

Huw Thomas, leader of Cardiff council, warned the scale of the budget gap leaves councils little latitude to continue to fund loss-making facilities they are not legally required to provide.

Cllr Thomas, who is culture, arts and leisure spokesperson for the WLGA, told the committee Cardiff is facing a £60m gap in the coming year.

He said: “We’re at the toughest point of budget setting I think we’ve experienced even in 14-15 years of austerity.”

Setting out the scale of the deficit, the Labour councillor told committee members the city’s combined annual budget for parks and libraries totals about £12m.

He said the council felt obliged to move away from a £1m-a-year subsidy for St David’s Hall.

‘Desperate need’

Cllr Thomas cautioned it is increasingly difficult to find savings after 14 years of austerity, adding that councils are overwhelmingly prioritising services in areas of higher poverty.

He made a case for additional funding for Cardiff as the capital, raising the example of other cities in the UK receiving help with policing costs for major events.

Sarah Ecob, head of culture at Conwy council, said: “We’re fighting really hard to keep our buildings and our services open in a backdrop of extremely severe financial difficulties.”

She expressed concerns about a lack of longer-term investment in facilities, warning: “We still have leisure centres that are desperately, desperately in need of major capital funding.”

Amanda Davies, managing director of Byw’n Iach which runs 12 centres across Gwynedd, cautioned: “There’s no fat left to cut. We’re running on a basis of individual staff running some facilities – you can’t cut back further … it’s not possible.”

‘Rescued’

Ms Davies raised concerns about a crisis in terms of ageing leisure facilities across Wales, with increasing costs and some centres set to close for maintenance.

Asked about cultural venues, Roland Evans, assistant head of economy at Gwynedd council, said numbers are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

He warned that without the shared prosperity fund (SPF), which replaced EU structural funds, the council would be facing a “cliff edge” with little arts and museums activity.

Ms Ecob echoed this, saying: “The SPF has absolutely rescued us this year.”

She warned core staff are “very much under threat” when the funding comes to an end, which would have knock-on impacts in terms of applying for grants.

Mr Thomas agreed about the importance of the SPF as he similarly raised concerns about uncertainty surrounding funding beyond March 2025.