THE local authority watchdog is urging Kirklees Council to "think carefully" about the type of meeting it holds to give campaigners fighting to save a sports centre in Cleckheaton their say over its closure.

It follows a final decision made last week by the local government ombudsman concerning a complaint about how the council handled the decision which was made by its cabinet two years ago.

The complaint is connected to a plan to demolish the neighbouring Whitcliffe Mount Business and Enterprise College and the sports centre itself, and rebuild the school elsewhere on the same site.

The two share the same site in Turnsteads Avenue and the sports centre is scheduled to close at the end of May. Once the new school has been built in time for September 2017, the old school building will be demolished and a new smaller sports centre built in its place.

The council is also expanding facilities at Spenborough Pool in nearby Liversedge, which will be ready in January, ahead of the planned closure of the Whitcliffe Mount facilities.

But campaigners are concerned that it cannot be guaranteed the new sports centre will be available for the local community to use. They complained to the local government ombudsman about a lack of public consultation ahead of the decision to close the sports centre, which was made behind closed doors.

In upholding the complaint, and a second complaint about a lack of consultation with disabled users of the centre, the ombudsman has called for the council to reconsider the issue at a "full council meeting" as well as outlining the costs of breaking the existing contract for the school to be redeveloped if the leisure centre was to be kept open.

The report also criticised the council for not carrying out an equalities impact assessment, instead relying on a screening assessment, which scored low because the sports provision was not being totally withdrawn, but reconfigured and relocated elsewhere.

Last week, the council said it had agreed with the ombudsman that the matter will go back to cabinet, potentially the December meeting and that a report would be prepared.

Now, the local government ombudsman inspector Anne Johnson has written back to the council, following emails from the complainants, saying: "I do think that a full hearing with widespread publicity will be important to avoid further complaints to the ombudsman that the settlement has not been carried out properly."

A spokesman for the campaigners told the Telegraph & Argus: "We emailed the ombudsman for clarification of the adjudication. It is our contention that it should be the full council that decides after the cabinet has been found at fault."

Yesterday, the council announced that the issue will be discussed at an extra Cabinet meeting at a date to be announced next month.