BEWILDERED gym users have been left shocked by an announcement a much-used hall at Edgbarrow Sports Centre will be closed off to the public. 

In a letter handed out to users, Bracknell Forest Council claim the hall is needed to provide space for the growing number of students at Edgbarrow Secondary School and say they 'genuinely regret' the impact the closure will have.

The school already has exclusive use of the main hall during the extended school day and the small hall will also be closed to the public between 8am and 5.30pm weekdays after the changes come into force from January 1, 2016.

A long-term member of the Nifty Fifties exercise class that uses the smaller hall, Jean, who wants to go by only her first name, said she is 'shocked' and 'perturbed' at the closure, which has gone ahead without a consultation with those using the facility.

She said: "I was shocked to be given the letter. I have attended the Nifty Fifties classes for years and have enjoyed the fitness as well as the companionship. By removing this the council are destroying a community asset used by retired people not only to enjoy sports but also the social aspect. 

"I am perturbed that the council feels they can just go ahead with this without any consultation with daytime users or the wider community. 

"By not undertaking a proper consultative period with all those concerned the council are trying to sneak this in and completely ignore who helped fund it and who will suffer the most.

"As I understand it, the sports centre was built not just as a school facility using school funds but also with ratepayers' money for the wider community."

Bracknell News: Closure of Edgbarrow Sports Centre

Classrooms and teaching space are being stretched by an increase in the number of students attending Edgbarrow school, up from 1,213 in 2010 to 1,367 in September 2015. 

The council claim the school need the small hall to accommodate PE and drama lessons as well as exams and extra-curricular activities. 

Janette Karklins, the council's director of children, young people and learning, said: "While we are delighted the school is growing, there is obviously a pressure on space and we have been looking at various options to provide additional classrooms and teaching spaces.

"The new arrangements will allow Edgbarrow School to use the space exclusively during the school day entirely for the benefit of its students.

"Obviously this will mean the community activities and events which currently take place in the small sports hall during the day will have to move elsewhere and we will work with those groups to advise and support them in finding new venues in the borough.

"The school and the council are still in discussions about how these changes will affect the running of the sports centre and staffing levels."