Campaigners celebrate council U-turn on Clifton Hill Sports Centre site
Campaigners are celebrating following a dramatic U-turn by Exeter City Council on a decision to sell an area of green space behind the former Clifton Hill Sports Centre.
The council has abandoned plans to sell the green space for housing but still aims to demolish the sports centre itself.
The site has been a point of protest for local campaigners for more than a year.
Initially a protest group had worked to save the Clifton Hill Sports Centre from permanent closure, but campaign efforts failed after Exeter City Council said repair of the centre would cost £700,000.
The council had planned to sell the green space behind the leisure centre at an estimated value of £9 million. The authority said it planned to use the money raised for vital improvements to leisure services elsewhere in the city.
Campaigners have welcomed the council's U-turn on the decision though admit it is "a partial victory" as the vacant sports centre is still set to be demolished.
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