Campaigners continue to apply pressure to convince Reform-led Kirklees Council to finally reopen Dewsbury Sports Centre.

The previous Labour leadership had taken the “devastating” and highly questionable decision to permanently close the sports centre in Dewsbury – one of England’s most deprived towns.

For three years campaigners have been pushing for transparent information and a solution.

Dewsbury Sports Centre shut after raac found in 2023

The Reopen Dewsbury Sports Centre campaign wants a quick and safe reopening of the sports centre, which it believes can happen at the same time as considerations regarding a new sports facility take place.

During a meeting in September, attended by dozens of residents, concerns were raised about the council leadership abandoning North Kirklees (where Dewsbury is), while focusing all energy on the central town of Huddersfield.

Reform took over the running of the council in July.

Speakers also highlighted the council’s ongoing failure to give residents a clear and reliable breakdown of how much reopening the sports centre would cost.

In a press release, one campaigner expressed:

Residents should not have to fight for basic information, and when they do ask for it, they should be able to trust that the answers they receive are accurate.

Another concern voiced at the meeting related to the shockingly low numbers of children hitting national benchmarks in swimming skills.

Campaigner, Surraya Patel, insisted:

Swimming and water safety are essential life skills, and parents and guardians deserve to know whether their children are getting the opportunities they should be getting.

She stressed:

What we cannot accept is another few years of changing figures, unanswered questions and delay.

As a next step, campaigners want to meet with council leadership, and will be asking councillors to sign a pledge to demand the sports centre’s reopening.

Which Reform councillor will turn up?

Along with Dewsbury’s independent councillors, some Reform councillors were also present at the meeting and “declared their unequivocal support for the campaign’s position”.

Council leader, Sarah Wood, however, was absent. Simon Brophy, the cabinet member for strategic finance and local government efficiency, was also absent. Brophy has recently announced million-pound plans to renew CCTV cameras and the council’s Enterprise Resource Planning system.

The Reform council seems to have been spending more time thinking about flags and offensive social media posts than actually resolving residents’ problems. Having already suspended one councillor in August, Reform is currently facing criticism over the words of another councillor from the same ward.

In a post referencing Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson), Reform’s Tracy Clayton spoke about immigrants as “3rd world animals” and “invaders”.

Commenting on the post, a Reform spokesperson responded: “What’s wrong with it?” Later, a spokesperson dug in, defending Clayton with some anti-immigrant smears.

Council leader Wood, meanwhile, said:

The language used may go further than I would. But Tracy raises an important point in the implied intent of her post.

This sparked outrage from other councillors, who called for Clayton’s resignation and slammed her dehumanising rhetoric for crossing a line for public office holders.

It seems pretty clear what Kirklees’ Reform represents and where its focus lies.

But campaigners are still hoping that even Reform councillors can see that reopening Dewsbury Sports Centre is a no-brainer. Even if they can’t, locals will not stop pushing.

Featured image via KLTV

By Ed Sykes

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