Outdoor centre closure options to be reviewed

Options to save an outdoor education centre earmarked for closure will be assessed in a review.

High Borrans in Windermere, Cumbria, is due to be shut down by its owner North Tyneside Council in November.

The decision sparked a public and political backlash, but local authority bosses said a multimillion-pound repair bill and declining school visits had made the centre unviable.

It has now been announced the Institute for Outdoor Learning is heading a working group to explore whether High Borrans can have a future outside council ownership.

North Tyneside Council director of children's services Rebecca Wall told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the authority was "engaging constructively" with the new working group.

But she added: "This does not alter or reverse the cabinet decision, and any future arrangement would still mean that High Borrans is no longer owned or operated by North Tyneside Council."

More than 2,400 people signed a petition demanding the council U-turn on the closure decision, which was first announced in June.

In August, the Save High Borrans campaign announced it was considering applying for a judicial review into the closure.

Councillor Rebecca O'Keefe was suspended from North Tyneside's ruling Labour party for a minimum of six months for defying the party whip and voting in favour of a cross-party review into the closure.

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