Flintshire: Last-ditch bid to save Aura leisure fails

It comes despite more than 3,700 people signing a petition to try and prevent Aura Wales from going out of existence.

The employee-owned company has managed leisure centres, libraries, heritage services and play areas in the county as part of an agreement with Flintshire Council since 2017.

However, it was announced last month that the two parties had failed to reach a new long-term funding deal, with a local authority trading company to be created to run the services from the start of November.

An eleventh-hour motion to try and reverse the decision was heard at a packed full council meeting in Mold today (Thursday, 24 October), with a large number of Aura employees and local residents in attendance.

Tabled by five members of the Flintshire People's Voice (FPV) independent group, it called for emergency negotiations to be held with the charitable organisation to allow it to continue providing services.

The motion was defeated by 37 votes to 16 as members of the ruling Labour/independent administration backed establishing the new council-led company as planned.

Flintshire People's Voice members with the Aura petition (Image: FPV) It came despite group leader Sam Swash accusing officials of keeping councillors in the dark over why the arrangement with Aura was not being continued, claiming its loss would be "disastrous".

He said: “Aura is hugely valued by the people of Flintshire. (It) has allowed for an innovative approach to delivering services and has protected those services from the kind of cuts that other local authorities have inflicted on leisure centres and libraries.

“No councillor can say that they are satisfied that the alternative local authority trading company will achieve the same success as Aura, that there will not be a significant cost increase for the council and that there will not be service disruption.

“This is mainly the case because there's been precious little detail provided to members on that alternative.

“We have not seen any business plans, any proposed budgets, any arrangements for the appointment of the board or any management.

“It is not too late to prevent this disastrous outcome. I urge colleagues to support this motion and vote to protect Aura.”

The council previously said it was working to ensure disruption from the transfer of services would be kept to a minimum.

But the meeting was told leisure centres and libraries will initially be closed from Friday, November 1 until Monday, November 4 to allow health and safety checks to be carried out.

A letter was read out from the chief executive and chair of Aura, who warned bringing services back in-house would put a strain on the council's budget and could lead to leisure and library facilities being closed down.

While the claim was denied by the authority, Mike Welch and Sara Mogel said some customers had already cancelled direct debits as a result of the changes.

They said: “The local authority trading company (LATC) will not be able to run services as efficiently as Aura without closing and/or reducing services, or assuming significantly higher operating costs.

“Aura is receiving clear feedback from large numbers of customers who are cancelling their memberships, including children’s swimming lessons, on the basis that they believe Aura’s offer is excellent, and that the proposed change will reduce quality.

“This is a direct result of the council’s decision to railroad through the creation of the LATC in haste, rather than do the necessary work to build customer confidence.

“The transfer time the council has imposed on itself will be impossible to achieve without major service interruption.”

Picture shows FCC leader Dave Hughes (Image: Flintshire Council)A number of councillors spoke out in support of Aura during what was a tense meeting.

Several members were warned over their conduct as blows were traded between opposition politicians and the ruling coalition.

Labour council leader Dave Hughes strongly denied claims that facilities would be closed.

He said: “I have never once said that we're going to shut libraries. Where that’s come from, I don't know.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Chris Dolphin (Ind) accused the FPV group of spreading "misinformation" and playing on the fears of residents and Aura staff to gain suport for their petition.

The council's chief executive Neal Cockerton said in a report that officials were working to achieve a smooth transition and employees would be unaffected by the changes.

He said: “The employees will transfer in their existing roles with no changes to job title, duties, terms, and conditions, or reporting lines.

“It is the desire of the council and the LATC, Flintshire Libraries and Leisure, that services transfer as seamlessly as is possible and with minimal disruption to customers.

“However, it is recognised that there may be a need for some interim arrangements post transfer given there will be a new model of delivery.”

The motion was defeated at the end of the debate, meaning services will transfer to the new company from the start of November.

While Aura will continue to exist in the short-term, a spokesperson previously confirmed it will eventually be wound up.