Six leisure centre crèches which are threatened by closure in a bid to cut costs have received a three-month stay of execution from council chiefs.
Yesterday's full council meeting heard that the facilities in the council-managed leisure centres are to remain open for a further three months while discussions continue over their future.
The facilities were due to close in November after the council cited falling popularity and rising costs estimated at £60,000 a year - but, as reported earlier this month, concerns were raised about the lack of public consultation.
Now the crèches at East Leeds, Kippax, Rothwell, Aireborough, Pudsey and Scott Hall leisure centres will remain open until February 2011 to allow more time for talks to continue between the council's leisure and early years departments.
Talks will also continue with current users to explore possible alternative options for the crèches, including parents setting up social enterprises and running the facilities themselves.
Deputy executive member for leisure councillor Lisa Mulherin said:
"The talks we have held with parents using the existing crèches and our early years colleagues have been very positive and some good ideas have been put forward in terms of alternative crèche provision. We have chosen to keep the crèches open to allow us more time to develop those possible options further."
UPDATED 5.15PM: Councillor Matthew Lobley, Conservative Group Chief Whip, said:
"While this news is pleasing, especially for the service users, I am still disappointed that it took so much effort for the ruling Labour/Green administration to realise that they had made the wrong decision and to get them to actually look at the proposals again.
"The current administration wasted £129,000 on keeping open South Leeds Sports Centre only to close it a few months later – that funding would have paid the £60,000 necessary to fund these centres twice over.
"The council now needs to look at innovative ways in which this funding can be generated, which must involve proper consultation with the service users. One thing is for sure neither the campaigners nor I will rest until we can secure a permanent future for these crèches.
"This was a poorly conceived local policy and I look forward to the review of the service that should lead to a permanent future for these valuable local facilities."
Cuts discussed at council
Yesterday's meeting in Leeds Civic Hall saw council leader Keith Wakefield attack opposition councillors for 'politicising' the council scrutiny board watchdogs, following one board's insistence that a decision be reconsidered to allow schools to charge local organisations for using their facilities for meetings. Wakefield says the board's decision will cost council tax payers £200,000 which could have been saved.
He urged parties to work together in difficult financial times and said he had appointed Morley Borough Independent leader Robert Finnigan onto the powerful executive board as an advisory member. Wakefield added:
"One subject the opposition has avoided today has been the cuts. We have £150 million to find over four years, we have to find £90 million in the first year alone, which is a big challenge.
"Our capital programme has been cut by 45%. Schemes at Holt Park, Little London, the city flood defences, the trolleybus and so on are all at risk. We need to find as much concensus as possible ... I am, however, very concerned about politicising scrutiny boards."
The Labour leader said the schools decision was actually included in last February's budget, when the Liberal Democrat-Conservative-Morley Borough Independent coalition was in power and it made no sense for councillors on those parties to ask for the decision to be reconsidered.
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