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# Council bosses insist "plenty of work" is taking place to secure long-term future of Lichfield leisure centre
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/council-bosses-insist-plenty-of-work-is-taking-place-to-secure-long-term-future-of-lichfield-leisure-centre/
- Published: 2020-01-20T17:05:53.000Z
- Updated: 2020-01-20T17:06:02.000Z
- Description: Council bosses say “plenty of work is going on behind the scenes” as efforts to secure the long-term future of a Lichfield leisure centre continue.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 18:18, News

Council bosses say “plenty of work is going on behind the scenes” as efforts to secure the long-term future of a Lichfield leisure centre continue.

Friary Grange Leisure Centre was saved from closure last year after a public campaign forced an 11th hour u-turn.

Lichfield District Council has set aside £695,000 to fund repairs to keep the facility open in the short-term, with a further £5million pledged towards securing a new leisure site in the long-term.

![Friary Grange Leisure Centre](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/friary-grange-leisure-centre.jpg)

Friary Grange Leisure Centre

Three separate projects have been created to deliver leisure facilities in Lichfield going forward:

- A group to work with Staffordshire County Council, The Friary School and Freedom Leisure to ensure the existing centre remains open beyond the initially proposed closure date of April 2020.
- Essential repairs to keep Friary Grange Leisure Centre open for up to five years.
- Consultants to support the process of finding a new site and securing planning permission for a build to start within five years.

Councillor Andy Smith, acting Cabinet member for leisure, said:

> “Plenty of work is going on behind the scenes and so much has been achieved already within a relatively short amount of time.   
>  
> “The discussions with our stakeholders to make sure we can keep Friary Grange open after April 2020 are well underway and we hope to have the agreements, licenses and lease finalised soon, so we are in a position to start the repairs to Friary Grange.  
>  
> “I know that everyone who campaigned so passionately to keep the leisure centre open are looking forward to the repair works getting underway, and we should be in a good position to start these in the spring.”  
>  
> Cllr Andy Smith, Lichfield District Council

#### “Usage of Friary Grange has dropped in recent years”

Cllr Smith said it was important residents continued to show the value they place on public leisure facilities after thousands signed a petition to keep it open.

> “Usage of Friary Grange has dropped in recent years, and we hope that everyone who supported the campaign will become regular users, helping to support its ongoing survival.   
>  
> “We are also fully committed to providing new leisure facilities within the next five years, and are progressing our plans and look forward to sharing these with everyone in the future.”  
>  
> Cllr Andy Smith, Lichfield District Council

The council is also supplying updates on how the project is progressing at [www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/leisureplans](http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/leisureplans?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk).