DUDLEY Council’s leader has announced a dramatic u-turn on plans for leisure centre provision in the borough.

Councillor Pete Lowe, who is at the helm of the Labour-run authority, told Monday’s full council meeting that his group aspires to keep three leisure centres in Dudley’s three big towns - Stourbridge, Halesowen and Dudley.

He even signed a petition presented by Save our Leisure Centres campaigners at the end of the meeting where campaign leader Tracy Wood spoke passionately about the group’s wish to keep three leisure facilities open in the towns they currently operate in.

She told the meeting: “We don’t need gold-plated treadmills - we’d like a sensible maintenance plan to keep our leisure centres clean.”

The former councillor, who was at one time Labour’s cabinet member for leisure, urged councillors to ensure they “don’t devastate our communities” by closing the facilities as she warned the borough is facing an obesity crisis.

Dudley’s ruling Labour group had previously announced its intention to close all three leisure centres - Dudley and Halesowen Leisure Centres and Stourbridge’s Crystal Leisure Centre - and replace them with two new ones in undisclosed locations to help save costs and create fit-for purpose new facilities.

But much to the delight of campaigners who packed out the public gallery in the council chamber - cllr Lowe expressed his aspiration to retain a minimum of three leisure centres.

He said: “We would wish to have three leisure centres, and we would wish to have those three leisure centres in the same place as they are at the moment - in Dudley, Stourbridge and Halesowen areas.”

But he stressed: “What we do need to ensure is that it financially stacks up for future generations.”

He told the full council meeting there had been "no release by this council” about the proposed plan to close three leisure centres, as he placed the blame on recommendations by Sport England.

But Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Conservatives, accused the council of backtracking and said: “The group opposite have retreated faster than a Spanish war ship off the coast of Gibraltar.”

And he said: “It wasn’t Sport England that sent the press release out - it was our own mar-coms department.”

Councillor Paul Brothwood, UKIP group leader on Dudley Council, told the meeting the borough needs a minimum of three leisure centres and he added: “Any party that goes against that is going against the will of the people.”

Councillor Les Jones, a former Conservative leader of the council, agreed, saying: “The three centre solution was the only solution.”

He said he believes the centres need replacing rather than refurbishing but he warned: “The first and foremost rule of politics is to listen to people."

The future of the borough’s leisure centres is now expected to be debated further by the scrutiny committee with Labour’s blessing to try and maintain three facilities in Stourbridge, Halesowen and Dudley.

Tracy Wood said after the meeting: "We're really pleased the council has changed its mind and we get to retain three leisure centres in our borough as a minimum."

She said 59 councillors added their names to the group's petition to retain three leisure centres and she added: "Our group looks forward to working with the council's scrutiny committees to ensure the residents of this borough and users of the centres are fully involved and consulted on the plans for the three centres going forward, whether that be refurbish or build new ones."