The loss of Gateshead Leisure Centre in summer 2023 was a dark day for the town. Gateshead Council's verdict that it could no longer afford to keep running the beloved facility sparked widespread worries about the physical and mental health of those who used it to keep fit and socialise, for schoolchildren left without a local swimming pool, and the sports clubs scrambling to find new homes.
But it also produced a sense of defiance and togetherness among the people of Saltwell and Bensham, a refusal to accept defeat that culminated in community organisation Gateshead Active taking the keys and a 50-year lease to the centre in an effort to breathe fresh life into it and provide a sustainable future. That was no small undertaking, with the sheer size of the mothballed building and the scale of investment needed presenting a huge challenge for a charity being set up from scratch.
But this Sunday, June 14, marks two full years since the centre reopened, a milestone that its staff and trustees take enormous pride in reaching. Business manager Shelley Sefton, a Bensham native who started out working on the leisure centre's reception desk, said: "We have had a lot to overcome and we are proud this is still here two years later. When you see the difference it makes to the community and the good feedback people give us about how much we help them, it shows it is all worthwhile."
Around 60 staff are now employed at the centre and it has just under 2,400 paying members. Ensuring the facility remains financially viable is an ongoing challenge. But, particularly given the collective effort it took to reopen the Alexandra Road site, there is a keen focus on it playing a larger role in the community.
It works with Tyneside-based charity Changing Lives to provide free access for reformed female prisoners, hosts free space for a community drop-in service at its cafe every Friday, donates activity vouchers distributed through Gateshead Foodbank, offers GP referral programmes, and delivers free fitness classes for people in financial hardship. Centre manager Anthony Kennedy wants it to be "not just a leisure centre where people can swim or go to the gym", but something with a deeper value.
'A lot of people wrote us off'
This weekend will offer the chance to give thanks to all those who have helped the centre return to its spot at the heart of the community. But there is also a stark reality. The challenges that led the council to close it down have not disappeared, particularly during a period of rising costs, and the fight for the centre's future is not over.
Anthony told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "We need to maintain our membership. Use it or lose it. We need people to keep coming in and using it, or it will disappear again. People need to remember that, it is why the council got rid of it in the first place.
"We need to say a big thank you to our customers for supporting us for these two years, nothing would have been possible without them coming through the door. I think a lot of people wrote us off before we started, and it has been a battle. But the support we had from the community and the board has been second to none. Everyone wants the same thing, to keep the centre open for the community."
Keith Burns, chief instructor for Kaizen Karate, was among those forced to relocate his club when the leisure centre was closed down for 11 difficult months. He says its return has been "a godsend for me and for the club". Keith added: "It has been absolutely fantastic and I am over the moon that it's still going.
"It is just getting stronger and stronger. I have seen big increases in the hall hire on a Wednesday from things like badminton and korfball. Our club has thrived again. It took a bit of time when we first came back, but the last six to eight months have just seen the numbers increase and increase. On a Saturday morning now we get 40 kids training, which is phenomenal."
Friends Amber Bone and Joanne Pattison are regulars in the centre's gym and told the LDRS that they enjoy its "good mix of people" and "friendly" atmosphere. Joanne said: "It is more than just a gym or a leisure centre, the staff here actually care. They want to be here and they want to see you do well."
Changes at the centre have included the Corporation Club, known locally as the Corpy, move in after overcoming concerns from the council and Northumbria Police about locating a bar within the building. The centre is also trying to host more community markets to make better use of its massive corridors, including an upcoming one to mark Refugee Week.
Bosses have faced some criticism lately after announcing that Swimfun North East would no longer be delivering swimming lessons at Gateshead Leisure Centre. Instead, its swim school will be run by an in-house team in order to help generate more revenue that goes straight back to the centre itself.
There have been no shortage of challenges up to this point, including the 2024 departure of original CEO Robert Waugh amid "concerns" that were raised with the Charity Commission. Gateshead Active's first set of accounts, for the year ending March 31, 2025, show an overall 320,000 pound deficit – a loss it put down to the impact of the significant costs accrued in reopening a leisure centre of its size, despite a strong community uptake meaning income was actually stronger than expected.
'It belongs to the community'
Clive Wisby, the headteacher of neighbouring Caedmon Community Primary School, chairs Gateshead Active's board of trustees and believes that the centre is now "the most stable we have been in the 24 months". The financial pressure on nearby schools that were forced to bus pupils to alternative pools for their swimming lessons during the centre's closure, rather than making a short journey on foot, quickly emerged as a massive problem.
Clive estimates that its reopening may have saved 14 local schools roughly 140,000 pounds in the last two years, not to mention protecting valuable teaching time that would have been lost when transporting kids elsewhere. He said: "It doesn't cost us any money to get there, it doesn't even cost time. We were going to Heworth [for swimming lessons] when it was closed and it was 5,000 pounds in coach costs."
The value of the leisure centre to provide local jobs, work experience opportunities, and boost community cohesion in an area with significant Jewish and Muslim populations is taken very seriously. Clive added: "It belongs to the community. As a headteacher, it makes my job a bit easier when the area has a thriving leisure centre – for our families, our children, the mums' and dads' wellbeing. They can go and swim, they can go to fitness classes. It is a safe space that is inclusive, that is warm. That's what this is all about."
This Sunday's celebrations will include a raffle in which members will get the chance to win a month of free access to the leisure centre. It is also running an open day with a selection of free activities – including swimming, yoga, zumba, and soft play.
For Anthony and his staff, the hope is that the centre can continue on an upward trajectory and protect a lifeline service that has been part of the community since the original Shipcoite Baths opened in the 1940s. He said: "When I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, all this stuff was readily available.
"I learned to swim at Shipcote Baths. But because there are now so many [financial] restrictions on schools and the council, it is all down to organisations like Gateshead Active, GLL, Everyone Active – these small or large charities take over and we have to make sure we still have the leisure facilities people need. Otherwise kids won't learn to swim, they won't play football, they won't learn how to interact, and they will just sit inside playing computer games."
