Lancing leisure centre collapse would ‘devastate’ dozens of young trampolinists

The collapse of Lancing Manor Leisure Centre could have a devastating impact on dozens of young people who use its facilities.
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Julie Belchamber has run Performance Trampoline and DMT Academy out of the centre since 2018, training around 80 members aged five to 20 for 19 hours every week.

The leisure centre faces collapse after Adur District Council said it would not provide financial support to its operator, Adur Community Leisure.

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Closure would mean no home for the academy, which Julie said had left her and the gymnasts ‘devastated’.

Performance Trampoline and DMT Academy at their only county event this year SUS-200707-151017001Performance Trampoline and DMT Academy at their only county event this year SUS-200707-151017001
Performance Trampoline and DMT Academy at their only county event this year SUS-200707-151017001

Julie said: “The club provides them with social interaction, but also the physical and mental well-being that would come with rejoining the club.

“When the lockdown easing was mentioned for July 4 it seemed like there was light at the end of the tunnel but then that was taken away.”

Competitions have already been cancelled for the rest of the year, but the group had stayed in touch over Zoom with conditioning sessions and quizzes.

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The council said it planned to find a new operator for the leisure centre if Adur Community Leisure, a local arm of Impulse Leisure, collapsed.

At a meeting of Adur council’s joint strategic committee on Tuesday night, members decided to delay making any decisions about the centre to allow them time look at a proposal from Adur Community Leisure about an alternative way forward.

Even that would lead to uncertainty over whether the club could continue under a new regime, Julie said.

With impending homelessness, the group will have to search for a new centre, but their abundance of equipment and the high ceilings needed for trampolining make that a difficult task.

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School gymnasiums present the most likely option, Julie said, but coronavirus guidelines have made that uncertain.

Julie asked anybody who may be able to help to contact [email protected]