Ships and Castles, Falmouth company to bid to run centre

A number of community groups have come together to form a Community Interest Company (CIC) called Pendennis Leisure to put forward a bid to run the threatened Ships and Castles leisure while a solution is found.

Cornwall Council has just finished running a consultation on the future of Ships and Castles as well as four other leisure centres in Cornwall which are under threat of closure after operator GLL said it could no longer afford to run them.

It is included in a hit list with leisure centres in Launceston, Saltash and Wadebridge as well as the hydrotherapy pool in St Austell.

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Pendennis Leisure now has until November 19 to put together a proposal to Cornwall Council to enable it to take over the running of Ships and Castles to save the headland from development and look for the solution for providing a leisure centre for the area.

Company spokesman Ben Leach told the Packet that the groups that have been previously looking separately for a solution to the Ships and Castles conundrum are now pooling their resources to ensure they were working together to get the best result for Falmouth and the surrounding areas.

"We need to protect the headland, keep the pool running but recognise the pool isn't ideal but want to keep the pool running. We are engaging with other organisations to work towards the leisure facilities that are 'Fit For Fal'. No-one's saying we want Ships and Castles to run in its current state forever and keep the pool.

"Three, four to five years into the future we may have leisure centre up there or it might be a leisure centre on another site, but continuing to protect the headland from any luxury housing development."

The groups involved include Ambos, Falmouth's Community Land Trust, whose cited aim is to capture land and buildings for community benefit, Active Fal and Falmouth Area Community Voice.

It has appointed its own CEO Mathew Thomson who has a background in working at a senior central government political level earlier in his career, he is said to be well known at Cornwall Council and has worked on lots of community initiatives in the past.

The company is planning a community event on November 20 when it is hoped hundreds of schoolchildren will form a 'community hug' around Ships and Castles which will create a picture taken from above by a drone.

Isla Hicks, 11, of Gyllyngvase Life Saving Club and a pupil at King Charles School said: "Ships and Castles is our only local pool, which is why it is so important to keep it open. If someone knocks it down and builds houses or hotels up there, then we will have to drive to other pools which will pollute the air more than we already have"

The company will also be appealing for volunteers to come and help tidy up the site to remove grass and small trees growing out of the pavement to 'show it a bit of love'.

The hashtag #fitforfal will be used on all their social media accounts and also being looking to release interviews with Ships and Castles staff but in the meantime urge people to continue to sign the petition at

"We are confident we can get a plausible bid in play by the November 19 deadline," said Mr Leach. "We have a really strong team behind this, campaigning and community engagement will bring the love back. The centre has been the victim of negative reporting and that uncertainty has led to some members cancelling their membership. We hope to act as the Ships and Castles marketing arm so we have this lovely facility that can be used."

Cornwall Council cabinet meets on December 15 to make a final decision on the leisure centre's future.

Yon can sign the petition to 'Protect Pendennis Headland and Save our Public Pool' here