A LEISURE centre in Herefordshire which has been closed since March 2020 needs another cash injection so it can reopen.

Herefordshire Council has agreed to allocate another £50,000, on top of £170,000 it had already agreed to spend, bringing the Bromyard Centre up to scratch after water damage.

The decision notice said the extra money was needed so extra uninsured work can take place, including the replacement of emergency lighting with improved energy efficient LED lighting.

"The award is direct to the onsite contractors who are currently carrying out both insured and uninsured works to ensure the building is compliant and able to open to the public," the decision, made by chief finance officer ad deputy chief executive Andrew Lovegrove said.

Outlining the reason for making the decision, the council said the leisure centre has been closed due to water damage since March 2020, but vandalism to the roof then caused further damage.

Water damaged the emergency lighting, fire alarm and electrical installations in a number of locations, but this was covered by insurance.

But as a result of replacing those sections, the current regulatory conditions required a whole replacement of the systems to meet regulations in order to achieve final certification.

"It is proposed that these works be funded from the programme of energy efficiency measures on leisure facilities and subsequently refunded by Halo [Leisure]," the document added.

Without the extra funding, the centre, which is owned by the council, could not reopen.