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A leisure centre in the Caerphilly borough is to close to save less money every year than the authority pays its chief executive to stay at home.

The closure of Pontllanfraith leisure centre on June 30 was approved at a council meeting on Wednesday despite a campaign to save it.

It is estimated that the closure will save the authority around £120,000 a year, less than the £130,000 a year it has paid its chief executive Anthony O'Sullivan has been at home on full pay since he was suspended in 2013 after he "unlawfully" tried to orchestrate a huge pay rise for himself and his colleagues.

In the meantime, his suspension has been ended and his situation renamed "special leave". A report in December found that by July, Mr O'Sullivan will have been paid £1.1m to do nothing.

(Image: D Legakis Photography/Athena)

Papers that went to the local authority's cabinet on Wednesday said Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre was too expensive to support amid growing pressures on the authority to balance its books.

The facility was visited 70,841 times in the last 11 months with each visit costing the council £2.11 in subsidy.

"No-one around this table came into politics to close facilities, and if there wasn't austerity this wouldn't be on the agenda," said council leader Dave Poole.

Joanne Taylor, speaking on behalf of residents and the Save Our Leisure Centre campaign, claimed that Pontllanfraith had been "singled out" for closure.

Ms Taylor said: "Our community faces being ripped apart to satisfy budgets elsewhere. We all have a duty of care, everybody matters."

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Tempers flared at the meeting when a campaigner was kicked out for allegedly making a remark towards Pontllanfraith councillor Colin Gordon.

The cabinet member for corporate services expressed a personal interest as a leisure centre user and ruled himself out of the final vote, which passed unanimously.

Deputy council leader Sean Morgan said he could understand the "passion and love" for the leisure centre but added: "I find it difficult listening to comments that we're ripping communities apart to satisfy budgets.

"We have had 10 years of austerity. Cabinet is not callously making decisions. We have a legal duty to deliver a balanced budget."

(Image: Huw James)

(Image: Huw James)

The meeting heard that the council had overspent on budgets by keeping Pontllanfraith open after deferring a decision to close the site last March.

Caerphilly council is expected to save nearly £120,000 a year on running costs, while avoiding outstanding repair and upgrade costs of more than £500,000.

It was also said that keeping Pontllanfraith would "undermine" the vision of the sport and active recreation strategy, which focuses investment on four 'strategic' leisure centres in Caerphilly, Newbridge, Risca and either Bargoed or Aberbargoed.

Speaking after the meeting, Blackwood town councillor and campaigner Zoe Hammond described the decision as "disheartening", after a raft of investment proposals for other leisure services in the borough were approved at the same meeting.

Loretta Newman-Ford, a fellow campaigner, added: "I think today has demonstrated that [Caerphilly] are not a listening council."

Blackwood Independent councillor Kevin Etheridge told Caerphilly Observer : “I’m very disappointed. I feel the closure of the Pontllanfraith leisure centre is a sad day for the Sirhowy Valley community.”

Among the other proposals agreed at the meeting was a £550,000 upgrade of the fitness suite at Newbridge leisure centre, which would be funded by Caerphilly council.

Newbridge is one of four leisure centres - not including Pontllanfraith - that the council wants to keep and develop as part of its 10-year sports and active strategy.

Elsewhere on the agenda was application for £1.6 million in Welsh Government funding to pay for two new sports facilities in Risca and Oakdale.

The Pontllanfraith site, which includes the former comprehensive school, has been earmarked for housing and a £3.1 million children's support centre.