COUNCILLORS have failed in a bid for all 87 of the county’s elected representatives to have a ‘meaningful vote’ on the future of Cornwall’s leisure centres.

A cross-party motion, submitted ahead of next week’s full council meeting by Independent Julian German and Liberal Democrat Hilary Frank, and backed by a cross-party group of councillors, stated that “any decision on whether to allow the four leisure centres at Falmouth, Launceston, Saltash and Wadebridge and the hydrotherapy pool at St Austell to close should be made at full Council, with all 87 members given a meaningful vote.”

The motion has been described as “illegal” by Cornwall Council’s Conservative leader Linda Taylor, as she says it asks her to undermine the constitution of the council by delegating the leisure centre decision to full council. Vice-chair Cllr Jordan Rowse has not allowed it to stand.

However a petition, launched by Independent Wadebridge councillor Robin Moorcroft, which also calls for all of Cornwall’s councillors to be able to vote on the centres, has been signed by 5,000 people and will be discussed at next Tuesday’s meeting.

Cornwall’s leading cabinet members, who are all from the Conservative group, are due to make a decision on how to proceed with the leisure centres at their meeting on December 15. They’ll be given recommendations by council officers at the start of next month, recommendations which will be shaped by the thousands of responses received from members of the public to a survey which finished in October, as well as feedback from users of centres, local councils and groups from all over the county.

Leader Cllr Taylor has accused those submitting the motion of political gamesmanship. She said: “The constitution of Cornwall Council simply does not allow me, as the Leader, to delegate the responsibility for a decision like this to full council. It is just not possible.

“The only reason I can think they [Cllr German and Cllr Frank] have attempted this is to play political games, bring the council into disrepute and put our chairman’s office in a very difficult position.

“This motion was asking me as the leader to undermine the council’s constitution, and act in a way which is not in accordance with the law. This is absolutely something I would never do and I am grateful to the council’s vice chairman for throwing this out, after seeking legal advice. This is scandalous.”

Cllr Taylor continued: “What’s remarkable is that we are having to make difficult decisions about Cornwall’s leisure centres because of the 25 year contract that Cllr German’s administration signed Cornwall Council up to with GLL that put the running of these facilities outside of our hands.”

But Cllr Frank said the motion did not ask the cabinet to delegate the decision, rather to allow all 87 councillors to have a meaningful discussion and input into the decision.

She said: “It’s essential that all 87 elected representatives can debate and vote on supporting our leisure centres, which are of key importance to all our residents. It’s not right that only 10 members of cabinet have this privilege.”

Cllr Frank added: “I am glad the petition has been successful, and I look forward to it being debated at Full Council on November 30.

“Hopefully, there will be a genuine debate on the future of all Cornwall’s leisure centres — anything less would be a travesty.”

Cllr Adam Paynter, Launceston North and North Petherwin, said: “I have signed the petition launched by my group which has been hugely popular with Cornish residents who also believe that all councillors should have a meaningful vote on any closures not just the 10 person Tory cabinet. This petition will be debated at full council. All councillors should have a say on leisure centre closures. I will continue to fight to ensure all leisure centres stay open, especially the Launceston leisure centre.”

Callington Councillor Andrew Long, of Mebyon Kernow, said: “Public Health and general fitness is at the forefront of the lives of the people of Cornwall and so it is vital that any decision that could adversely affect health and wellbeing is debated as openly as possible and not just left to a ‘chosen few’ to decide such an important issue.”

Cllr Taylor has stressed that “no decisions on the leisure centres have yet been made”.

Adding: “Innovative solutions must be found to ensure we can bridge our budget gap while focussing on our priorities, which reflect the issues our residents have told us matter to them.

“We have been working to ensure we fix the finances while maintaining frontline services as much as we possibly can.”

The council meeting today (Tuesday, November 30) will be available for the public to watch via webcast.