Comment: As leisure and arts facilities prepare to close, Kettering is being let down

The impact of the planned closure of leisure and arts facilities at Kettering Leisure Village cannot be overstated.

Thousands of people use them each month, be it as a casual visitor to a show or through their work or sports club.

They contribute hugely to the town’s economy and health and wellbeing and the idea that they could be taken away in just over four weeks is devastating.

What is frightening is what the town will be left with if they do close.

Kettering is a town of more than 60,000 people. But what do we actually have in terms of public facilities?

The London Road swimming pool is coming up to 40-years-old and a campaign to replace it has so far come to nothing.

The loss of Arena Sports would instantly take away a huge chunk of the remaining sports halls, with the rest found in local education settings. The council-owned artificial sports pitch was condemned in 2019 and the biggest soft play site, Kids Play, closed in 2021.

The closure of Lighthouse Theatre would mean the town’s biggest acting stage would be gone, with only smaller sites such as Bonkers and the Masque left.

When you compare that to neighbouring towns it’s hard to argue that the residents of Kettering aren’t being let down.

Corby’s Olympic-sized international swimming pool, which opened in 2009, is one of the best in the region. The Core theatre brings in big names and the town also has the Lodge Park Sports Centre, with indoor and outdoor facilities.

Wellingborough’s Waendel Leisure Centre, with its own pool, opened in 2007 and is one of two leisure centres in the town with the other being Redwell. The town also has the Castle Theatre.

Should the Kettering Leisure Village close as planned on May 31 - if nobody takes it on - town residents will have to drive elsewhere.

An NHS report found that 19 per cent of Year 6 pupils in Northamptonshire were classed as obese in 2019 to 20.

How will closing such a huge leisure facility help our children’s health?

Earlier this year, in nearby Rutland, councillors planned to close the county’s only public leisure centre but U-turned after a campaign against the move.

We appreciate that the decision to close the Kettering venue has not been made by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC). We also recognise that there is no statutory duty for councils to provide these services, and that doing so would not come without a cost.

But if ever there was a need for those who have been elected to represent us to step in and resolve an issue it is now.

NNC has been happy to spend money on Chester House and the Cornerstone project. Many would argue it now needs to do so to ensure that Kettering residents continue to have the facilities they need.

Mike Annable, chair of Kettering Amateur Swimming Club, told us today: “With careful planning KLV could provide a local facility that meets the needs of the local community, enabling the club to meet its desires, the council to address its issues and the people of Kettering to have a leisure facility they can be suitably proud of.

“It will not be easy and it will require vision and co-operation, but it is certainly achievable. The ball is firmly in NNC's court.”

We couldn’t agree more.