CAMPAIGNERS have been out gathering support for the fight to save the Leeds Sailing & Activity Centre.

The facility (LSAC) at Yeadon Tarn is under threat of closure through cost-cutting plans by Leeds City Council which is trying to plug a multi-million pound budget shortfall for 2021-22. Local politicians are opposing the move and exploring options - including having the centre taken over into community ownership - to keep it open.

The SAVE LSAC campaign, meanwhile, has started a petition at https://www.change.org/SaveLSACpetition which has already gathered more than 3,200 signatures. Campaigners were out at Yeadon Tarn last Saturday, December 12 to raise awareness of the fight and gather more support.

Among those attending were SAVE LSAC member and former Senior Instructor at the centre, Jackie Friend, and 16 year old Tanner Simms - who is now a volunteer helping with the sailing and canoeing courses.

Jackie and Tanner were interviewed by a TV crew from Calendar News on Saturday. She said: “We are in danger of losing outdoor activity opportunities for a generation of young people.”

Fellow campaigner and LSAC instructor Candy Waller said: “Despite the poor weather hundreds of visitors to the tarn stopped to sign the petition and chat with us, many reminiscing about their times on the water at Yeadon Tarn.

“The majority were unaware that Leeds City Council was proposing to close the centre which has thousands of visitors each year - including groups of primary school children, individual holiday and after school club participants, plus many adult users.

“There is nowhere in the Leeds area that offers the same range of activities.”

The petition’s statement says: “We are asking for your support to challenge the closure of this professionally run first rate facility, open to all, which offers safe qualified outdoor activity instruction for a wide range of sports and experiences.

One of the signatories, Peter Blackburn, left this comment: “Young people are the future and this form of outdoor education has a positive impact far out of proportion to the costs involved. When it’s gone it’s gone.” Another, Kate Littleton, said: “Leeds needs this type of facility! It promotes outdoor exercise and gives people skills and experiences that they can’t easily get elsewhere without travelling some distance.”

The SAVE LSAC team are also urging people to complete the council’s consultation on the closure plan, at https://surveys.leeds.gov.uk/s/oumurt, and have been sharing details about how to lobby local councillors and MPs. The centre has been closed since March but the campaigners are calling on the council to start an immediate, phased reopening.