THE boss of Bubbles in Morecambe says he is 'shocked and astounded' by a City Council report which suggests the leisure complex should be scrapped. The Council is looking anew at tourism in Morecambe and the Bubbles Complex, which includes the Dome, has been eyed as a potential development site. The internal management report questions the value of the public subsidy to the leisure complex but Bubbles Leisure Group director, Brian Bromiley, considers it a good investment.

"As a director of the company that runs the leisure complex I think it's disgusting the Council has not seen fit to put us in the picture. I'm astounded at these plans," said Mr Bromiley.

"As far as we're concerned we've got a contract to operate Bubbles and the Dome until April 1999. We've run the complex far better than the Council did when it was in charge. The complexity of the site means it needs specialist skills to manage it properly and since we took over we've done a very good job."

The in-house report issued to senior Labour members claims the new Salt Ayre Sports Centre has more appeal for both residents and tourists and it asks if the £300,000 subsidy is money well spent.

Mr Bromiley questioned the official subsidy figure, saying Councilcash ammounted to £180,000, and added that the leisure complex employed 100 locals in the summer.

He said: "Salt Ayre could never match us for tourists and it would be detrimental to the resort if we closed. The complex is very well used and we were hoping to extend the contract. As for the subsidy, we pay a lot of it back in rates."

Russell Smallwood, who has been involved in several projects at the Dome, said he was dismayed that the leisure complex was being considered for closure.

"A lot of people have worked hard to make a go of the place for little reward. I think the Council should tell us exactly what its planning," he said.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.