A request from operator Barnsley Premier Leisure (BPL) to close three leisure venues in the South Yorkshire town has been approved by members of Barnsley Council's cabinet.

Athersley Leisure Centre; Penistone Leisure Centre; and Wombwell Swimming Pool will be shut after a BPL business plan determined that the facilities were no longer viable to run. Barnsley Council has confirmed that all three are due to officially shut on 31 May, although Athersley Leisure Centre is already closed to the public on health and safety grounds.

Tim Cheetham, cabinet spokesperson for development, environment and culture (strategy) at the council, said: "Any decision to close a leisure facility is never taken lightly. "Sadly, given the UK's well publicised financial climate and the immense pressures on the budgets of council's and charitable organisations such as BPL, such difficult decisions become unavoidable."