Falmouth MP Cherilyn Mackrory has called on Cornwall Council to delay any closure of the town's leisure centre and criticised the council's approach.

Ships and Castles in Falmouth is one of four leisure centres in Cornwall which are under threat of closure after operator GLL said it could no longer afford to run them.

It is included in a hit list with leisure centres in Launceston, Saltash and Wadebridge as well as the hydrotherapy pool in St Austell.

Cornwall Council is carrying out public consultation about its leisure strategy which seeks to find alternative options and states that it wants residents to be within a 30-minute drive of a leisure centre.

Truro and Falmouth MP Cherilyn Mackrory has now written to the council's Cabinet member responsible for leisure services criticising some aspects of the Conservative council's approach.

In her letter to fellow Conservative Richard Pears she sets out that it is "unacceptable" that Cornwall Council should expect families in Falmouth to have to travel for up to 90 minutes to go swimming.

She also criticised the council's consultation process stating that six weeks was not long enough.

It comes after Falmouth Town Council also carried out a survey and issued recommendations to Cornwall Council to extend the consultation and to retain leisure facilities in the town.

The MP wrote to the council after carrying out her own survey with constituents to get their views on the future of leisure services in Falmouth and Penryn.

Almost 90% of people said they want Ships and Castles to stay open and 94% said there was a need for a leisure centre in the Falmouth and Penryn area.

More than 93% said they would not feel comfortable having to travel to Helston or Carn Brea to access leisure facilities.

In addition, almost 65% of people said they would not support the redevelopment of the Ships and Castles site to support other council priorities. There has been a suggestion that the site, which is located on the headland, could be redeveloped for housing.

In her letter Cherilyn wrote:

"Given Falmouth is Cornwall's biggest town, including our student population, it is absolutely vital that there is a gym and swimming pool facility within the town. For Cornwall Council to expect a family, of four, for example, to travel 60-90 minutes to and from Truro, and spend upwards of £40 just to go swimming for the afternoon is simply not acceptable. Living in a coastal community, it is absolutely vital that children are able to learn to swim and that this is accessible to them.

"While I absolutely appreciate the financial situation Cornwall Council finds itself in after eight years of mismanagement from previous administrations, I do believe the local authority has a role to play in ensuring that local families in Falmouth have access to suitable leisure facilities that teach them valuable life skills – like swimming and keeping fit and healthy.

"I understand that Cornwall Council no longer acts as leisure providers, but the council do own the Ships and Castles site, therefore, have a significant say in the matter."

She said she had three "asks" –

• Cornwall Council delays the closure of Ships and Castles by a minimum of 12 months and provides adequate information on accounts and running costs of the centre-right away, to give the community the chance to make plans. This will give the town the chance to come together and put forward a viable proposal. I give a commitment to working with the town to see how best we can move this forward. A six-week consultation period is not long enough.

• Cornwall Council reclassifies Falmouth and Ships and Castles from Tier 2 to Tier 1. Falmouth is the largest town in Cornwall and it also serves Penryn, the university campus and numerous outlying hamlets and villages.

• That careful consideration is given to the future of the headland site, taking note of the strong views expressed from residents of Falmouth and Falmouth Town Council during this consultation exercise.

[H3] Don't forget, you can see all the latest news and join in on the conversation on our Twitter and Facebook pages. [.H2]